iAm Done
by PD31
Summary: Freddie's angry with the group's reaction or lack thereof to his ordeal at the Halfoween party - and isn't afraid to show it. Alternative ending/continuation to iHalfoween.
1. iAm Done

**AN: I wrote this because of my anger at Freddie, YET AGAIN, being the butt of Dan's unfunny slapstick "humour" in iHalfoween. He's OOC but behaving, I believe, like any normal person would in his situation. This is starting out as a one-shot but may go multi-chapter. Reviews always welcome.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly or its characters.**

* * *

"Twenty times?" Freddie asked Spencer in an angry, accusatory tone. "You had to slam me _twenty times_?" he repeated cutting off Spencer's feeble response. The brown-haired teen then looked across the room to his "friends"; neither Carly, Sam nor Gibby had made a move to see if he was ok after his ordeal, which caused Freddie's disgust with them all to escalate. Stewing in his ire the discussion between Nevel and the rest, mainly Carly though, washed over him until a statement from Carly snapped him back to the room as if someone had just released one end of a taut elastic band.

"He's right, we should have done more. I'm sorry Nevel" she said.

Freddie's anger rose yet further at hearing this. He turned on his heel and walked out of apartment 8-C, closing the door behind him and standing outside for a few moments; nobody came after him. _Nobody gives enough of a damn_ he thought.

After changing out of the purple robot costume he returned to the hallway but paused at the Shays' door, deciding he had no intention of returning to the party. He looked over his shoulder at his own door: too obvious, someone would find him there; Sam will probably pick the lock if they eventually decide to go looking for him. He turned his head down the corridor towards his favourite "alone spot", the fire escape; again, he decided, they could pursue him there.

With a shake of his head he made his way to the top floor of Bushwell Plaza, to the room that had briefly been 'Casa del Freddo'. He hoped that the others would never think of looking for him there; he wanted to be alone with his thoughts. His eyes fell on the lumpy single mattress that had been left on the floor and he laid down on it, closing his eyes and reflecting on "Halfoween" and what he was finally realising about the group. "Peers" he decided he had to dub them now, coming to the conclusion that he could not describe ANY of them as "friends": Gibby – he had wanted to fight him over a false accusation, then he had turned around and done exactly what he'd alleged of Freddie ("stealing" a girl from him). He'd then sought to break up Freddie's relationship with Sam because he'd wanted Sam to hit Freddie instead of him, which she had taken to doing during their brief time as a couple. Freddie shook his head in revulsion at the thought of describing Gibby as a friend. His thoughts turned to Sam, his blonde ex-girlfriend – she had been so hot and cold in recent days, a contrast to the outright hatred and torment he'd suffered from her for so many years. Was she growing up? He wondered. Was she trying to be 'more normal'? To be the sort of girl he could be with? That possibility was tempered with the thought that recently she'd _also_ stolen and smashed his pearphone, simply because she was bored and she could. Also he recalled her most recent action, or _in_action to be more precise, when she saw that he was inside the robot suit: clearly she doesn't care _that_ much, he reasoned. _Hell, if she'd known it was me in there she'd have made Spencer slam me another twenty times_ he thought moodily. Spencer – even disregarding the whole "twenty slams", he had said something that had cut Freddie deep; Spencer had taken a shot at his sister's track record of failed relationships and had lumped Freddie in with the losers and wasters who had dated Carly.

"I treated her right" Freddie told himself. "I _loved_ her – and loved her enough to let her go because it wasn't real for her."

Inevitably from that reflection his thoughts turned to Carly. He smiled as he thought back on the good: their dance in the Groovy Smoothie, the half-hour make-out session on his bed, setting up and having their study dates, a lot of time spent completely at ease in one another's company. His smile fell, however, replaced with a frown, as more unpleasant memories surfaced: breaking up with her temporarily, just until his casts were removed, only for her to show it was permanent by chasing after yet another loser. He remembered her throwing an orange into his spine because he had the temerity to find Tori Vega attractive (despite Carly herself being in a relationship, with Steven, at the time), then there was the way he'd misjudged her at Nora's: electrocuting him far from the gentle way we had expected ("Carly cares about me" he had told Sam). _Looks like I was wrong_ he mused regretfully, especially as he reflected on today's events – not only had there been no concern on her part for him, she had apologised to the person who had engineered his torment. He cast his mind back one more time, to the question he'd blurted out a week or two earlier.

"It looks like I have my answer" he thought, a few tears forcing their way through his closed eyes as he felt a weight settle on top of his heart.

* * *

Despite the misery he'd felt, Freddie slept surprisingly well. On realising he was awake again he shot up, blinking as the daylight streamed through the uncovered windows. He pulled his phone from his pocket – 9:26 a.m.; he'd slept for over ten hours. _Better than normal_ he mused wryly. The phone also told him that he had 10 missed calls and a dozen texts – all from Carly. He rolled his eyes and shook his head, stowing the pear-shaped device back in the pocket of his jeans, only to hear his faint 'Galaxy Wars' ringtone and retrieve the phone again: his mom was calling.

"Freddie, where are you?" she asked in a frantic tone. "I just got home, Carly was hammering on our door; she didn't know where you are. Are you ok? Did something happen to you?"

"Mom I'm fine" he reassured her. "Something _did_ happen, which is why I don't want to talk to Carly – or to any of them. I'll tell you about it later but for now just get some sleep and I'll see you later" and with that he rang off.

Marissa relayed the message to Carly. "What happened?" she asked accusingly. "What did you do to my Freddie that meant he went off somewhere – I still don't know where – all night on his own?"

"There was a… misunderstanding" Carly began meekly, explaining about the chocolates, the voices, how Freddie had told her Nevel was in the costume, what they had done, then realising Nevel _hadn't_ been the robot at that time,

"And you were all too stupid to check first?" she blasted.

"We couldn't get the helmet off!" Carly defended.

Marissa shook her head in revulsion. "Was he at least ok afterwards?" she asked.

"He seemed fine" said Carly, "he left shortly after though and didn't come back."

"He SEEMED fine?" Freddie's mom screeched. "You didn't think to actually ask him? To check up on him?" Carly looked awkwardly at the ground. "No wonder he doesn't want to see any of you" Mrs Benson snapped. "Stay away from my son" she finished murderously, her index finger pointed right in Carly's face. She then turned, walked into apartment 8-D and slammed the door in Carly's face.

"Well!" the brunette huffed before pulling her own phone from her jeans and calling Freddie again. It continued to ring.

"Come on Freddie!" she yelled at it. "Pick up. I know you're around somewhere, you just spoke to your mom!" Unsurprisingly her phone didn't answer her.

Meanwhile Freddie, having spoken with his mom, had decided, now that he was awake, to head back home. He exited the elevator on the 8th floor and made his way slowly, carefully and quietly towards his apartment; he wanted to avoid a confrontation with Carly for as long as possible. He heard the door to 8-C close just as he approached the corner of the corridor and smiled to himself. He quickly made his way to the door of 8-D, unlocked it and slipped inside, quietly locking it again behind him.

"Freddie!"

He turned at his mom's voice.

"Mom! I thought you'd be in bed by now" he responded.

"I wanted to talk to you – about your friends. Car-" she began before Freddie cut her off harshly.

"They're _NOT_ my friends; I'm done with the lot of them."

Marissa looked a little taken aback before she smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that."

Freddie raised his eyebrows briefly before smiling at her. "Now I just need to find some people who actually _LIKE_ me and will care about me." He gave his mother a peck on the cheek and the two Bensons headed for their respective rooms, the mother to sleep, her son to search online for clubs in Seattle that matched his interests.

* * *

Freddie awoke on Monday morning with a renewed hope and spring in his step. He had found a couple of tech clubs and a model train club, all of whom were very happy for Freddie Benson from iCarly to be a member. They were a bit of a journey from his home but that suited him, both because he could drive there and because the distance meant it was less likely that anyone that he already knew would be there; his experiences of being kicked out of clubs in the past had left a bitter taste in his mouth.

He had ignored another dozen calls and twenty texts from Carly yesterday, though he knew the confrontation would happen today – they shared most classes after all. He left early, hoping to escape before Carly could ambush him in the corridor; the plan worked and he got to school in peace, where he began organising his locker for the day and week ahead. Having completed this task he made his way to the library, selected a book and began to read before school began.

"Freddie" Carly's voice whispered in his ear, hauling his attention away from the book and back to the school around him. He turned to look at her, she looked as pretty as ever but as he looked he saw the concern in her eyes suddenly morph into anger as her face contorted into a scowl. "Come with me" she demanded, pulling on his sleeve and earning a reproachful look from the school librarian. Freddie sighed but acquiesced, leaving the book on the desk, picking up his bag and following Carly out of the room.

"You ignored me all day!" she accused. "I must have called you twenty times and left you thirty texts!"

"Did you ever stop to think that it was because I didn't _want_ to talk to any of you?" he snapped.

Carly blinked, her anger deflating and confusion swelling in its place. Freddie rolled his eyes and continued

"I'm sick of it Carly. Sick of being around people who continually bring me nothing but pain, suffering and misery." She opened her mouth to respond but he pressed on before she could. "Saturday was the last time – what you all did to me."

"We didn't know!" she protested. He quickly continued.

"You found out. And your reaction? There wasn't one. No concern for my well-being, not even a 'Freddie are you ok?' The last straw was that you then apologised to _Nevel_." Carly gaped. "Nothing for _me_ but an apology for _him_." And with that he turned and walked off.

"Freddie, you don't understand" she called after him. He refused to stop and was soon lost in a sea of students before Carly could give chase. She began pursuing him but was foiled by the 1st bell, forcing her to turn and head for homeroom while Freddie made his way to his own.

* * *

"Hey Freddie" Sam greeted him jovially as she entered 1st period, English. "What happened to you on Saturday? You missed a killer end to the party!"

"Not in the mood Sam" he snapped. Her face fell at the surprising rebuff.

"What's with Freddweeb?" she asked Carly, who had entered the room and was approaching the pair warily. She gave the blonde a dazed look before Freddie answered for her.

"What's up is that I'm done with the lot of you." The two girls spun around to face him. "I'm sick of spending time with people who couldn't give less of a damn about me if they tried." He caught a fleeting gleam in Sam's eye and continued wearily, "Yes, Sam, I know not caring about me is the one thing you _do_ try hard at." Sam dropped her gaze at this as Freddie continued with his tirade. "You guys rig me up in Spencer's contraption – dump me in the basket TWENTY TIMES, nobody cares enough to even see if I'm ok, then _she_" he spat at Carly, "apologised to Nevel and you all just carry on partying!" He shook his head and looked down at his books on his desk.

"No Freddie, it wasn't like that" Carly began in a pleading tone, only for Miss Briggs to shout at the class to sit down. Carly looked to Sam in defeat, she gave the brunette a sympathetic smile before taking her arm gently and guiding them to their places.

Carly spent the lesson staring vacantly at Freddie sat in front of her, letting the mean teacher's dronings drift over her. To her left Sam was fast asleep but Freddie was staring intently at Miss Briggs, working hard and ignoring all distractions, particularly the brunette whose heart was breaking behind him.

The bell tolled for the end of the lesson. Freddie flew from his seat and from the room, a dazed Carly responding too late to give chase. With a resigned slump of her shoulders she gathered her belongings, nudged a stirring Sam, rousing her from her slumbers, and trudging from the room towards Mr Howard's Maths class.

"Why did they make Monday start with the two worst teachers?" Sam grumbled.

"Oh what do you care? You're always asleep in both classes!" Carly kept her voice light and playfully prodded her friend, trying to keep her concern for the Freddie situation out of her voice and mannerisms. It either worked or Sam was just oblivious as they made it to the Maths department in comfortable silence.

On entering the room the girls saw that Freddie had already unpacked and made a start on work from his text book.

"Getting going early Fredward?" joked Sam as they approached him. He ignored them and continued to work; but any reprisals from Sam were curtailed as the balding, bespectacled teacher demanded a start to the lesson.

Carly resolved to be more alert this lesson, to ensure she could catch up with Freddie at the end of the lesson and clear things up between them. She got her chance when she left an again sleeping Sam at her desk and cornered Freddie outside the toilets.

"You're wrong" she began. "I wasn't apologising to Nevel. Not really. I just wanted his goons out of the way so we could get payback; we slammed him good" she smiled at the thought before Freddie shattered her mood by observing coldly

"Like you did to me."

"We didn't know it was you!" she repeated.

"We've been here before" he reminded her. "The point is that when you DID find out, not one of you cared enough to see if I was ok – which I _wasn't_" he finished bitterly.

"I'm sorry" she said, shame etched on every syllable.

Freddie looked at her and spoke in a low, emotionless voice. "You were never obliged to _love_ me back; but I know now you never will; it seems I got the answer to my question: it IS too late for you to love me." Carly looked at him with astonishment and more than a little hurt at this statement. "But," he continued, "since you call yourself my friend you should at least care about me. You've also proved once and for all that you don't really – none of you do – and that's why we're done" he ended simply.

Carly stood motionless, processing his words, all of them, as he walked away from her. Freddie, in contrast, was wearing a surprisingly broad smile. It had hurt him to come to the conclusion that he had; it was painful to look Carly in the eye and say what he had done. But he had done what he knew he had to; and he felt free – like he had just dumped years of emotional baggage and pain. He thought fondly of the first meeting he would have with his new tech club tonight, of his intention to return to the fencing studio tomorrow for the first time in years and of a model train club he'd meet for the first time on Wednesday. Freddie's smile grew at the thought of a fresh start with new people, some of whom just might turn out to be true friends who would treat him well.


	2. iGet A Job

**AN: Ok so as I said this was originally going to be a one-shot. However after the events of iPear Store I felt compelled to continue it.**

**The first chapter was mostly Carly/Freddie-centric; this chapter will see a bit more of Sam/Freddie.**

* * *

Freddie was smiling as he arrived at the Pear Store for his shift; he had gotten the job a couple of days after the disastrous "Halfoween" party and could scarcely be happier with how it was going. He had worked there for about a fortnight and was doing every shift he could sign up for, while ensuring that he kept on top of his studies. Not being a part of iCarly anymore or hanging with Sam, Gibby or the Shays had suddenly given him a lot of extra spare time and he was determined to make the most of it. He thought about taking up fencing again too; now that he was earning money he could look for some good quality equipment.

Freddie walked through the door and his heart sank; Sam Puckett was stood on the shop floor in an employee's uniform.

"Hey Freddie" the blonde greeted him jovially. He shook his head in disbelief. "We're workmates" she declared happily.

Freddie made a point of ignoring her and not looking at her as he walked past. Sam didn't like this and grabbed his arm as he passed her.

"What's up with you?"

"I told you all after 'Halfoween' that I'm done with you; the next thing I know you come to work _here_, where _I'm_ working? Sam, you HATE work; why are you here if not to screw with my life YET AGAIN?" he fired angrily.

"I'm here because I need money Freddie; I can't sponge off Carly indefinitely and you won't give me any more since… that happened, so I got a job." She leaned in closer and whispered "We work together whether you like it or not."

Freddie sighed and closed his eyes, resting his head on his hand as he felt his new, better world was already starting to disintegrate around him.

"You know the tech stuff better than me" Sam said, grinning evilly, "so I'll be asking you whenever I need help; that's what the boss said to do" and she gestured at Natalie, Freddie's supervisor.

"Fine," he snapped, "if it's about work then talk to me. Other than that, leave me in peace." And with that he walked off to clock in and prepare to start work.

"You're not the boss of me Benson" Sam muttered darkly at his retreating back.

* * *

"Hey Freddie" the saccharine-laden voice of Carly Shay grated in his ear as his mood darkened ever further. It had been a miserable shift for Freddie; he had been assigned to the sales department today and was struggling. He had spoken to a number of customers but was continually interrupted by Sam asking for technical help, sometimes on the most mundane topics (leading him to believe she was doing deliberately to disturb him). This was endlessly disrupting his rhythm; and on occasion so much so that the customer either left the store or went to see another member of staff. Consequently he had sold nothing so far today. He turned to see the brunette girl stood next to Gibby, who was making a show of browsing the new Pear Pad so as not to look in his direction.

"What are you doing here?" he asked through gritted teeth. "What is this? I finally get to do something on my own, something that makes me happy, I build a life for myself _without all of you in it_ and you all have to screw it up for me? _She_ winds up working here and you two have to harass me here? Why can't you all just leave me alone to get on with my life now I'm finally happy with it?"

"Because we're your friends" Carly protested in a shrill voice, clearly stunned by his tirade.

"No you're not" he countered harshly. "I told you I'm done with you, ALL of you" he finished, looking from Gibby to Sam, who was glowering in his direction from a few feet away. He then turned his back on them and walked over to speak to a customer who was browsing the Pear Phone section. Unfortunately they were "just browsing today" so again he was frustrated in his efforts, much to Natalie's annoyance. His case, in her eyes, was not helped when Carly strode angrily over to him, furious that he had walked away from her.

"Excuse me but this is a store, we are customers. You need to work on your customer relations" she told him.

"Yeah Freddie" Sam piped up, having joined the little gathering, "maybe that's why you're such a terrible salesman."

"I'd do better if you didn't keep interrupting every time I try to deal with a customer" he snarled back at her before his boss stepped between them and looked at him, an annoyed expression on her face.

"You're in sales. I want _sales_ not excuses" she snapped.

Freddie looked to his angry audience, sighed again and said, to no one in particular,

"I need a break; I'm taking my 10."

"No you're not" Natalie contradicted as he began walking off. "You're not going anywhere until _you sell something_." She motioned to Kevin, a fellow employee, and he walked after Freddie, intercepting him and dragging him back to the shop floor.

The subsequent half-hour was agonising for Freddie; customers who had witnessed his public humiliation at his colleagues' hands were avoiding him, any that he spoke to found an excuse to leave his presence, usually to speak with someone else. His mood wasn't helped by Sam's continual taunts every time she passed by him. Carly had also departed, along with Gibby; their absence did little to improve his state of mind. Finally Natalie realised his presence there was not benefitting anyone and permitted him to go for a break; as he walked to the staff area Freddie pulled his phone from his pocket and began researching 'constructive dismissal' on-line.

He returned from his break determined to do his best to salvage _something_ from such a miserable shift and got his chance when a well-dressed middle-aged gentleman, who he recognised from being in the store during the unpleasantness, re-entered the shop and approached him.

"Freddie Benson?" he asked. Freddie confirmed his identity.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name's Mr Cousins; I own an electrical store a few blocks from here. I watch your webshow, I was also here a few minutes ago and I couldn't help but notice that sales isn't really your thing."

Freddie looked darkly at him and he hurriedly continued "Oh I don't mean that in a bad way; not everyone is cut out for it. What I meant is that you know you're stuff with comp-"he tailed off as Freddie's blonde nemesis appeared at his shoulder.

"Freddie-"she began before Mr Cousins interrupted her sharply.

"Young lady, I'm talking to him; you need to learn some manners."

Despite her annoyance at being spoken to in this way, even Sam was not fool enough to attack a customer in the store; she slouched off to speak to somebody else.

"As I was saying" Cousins began again "you know what you're doing with computers Freddie; you're wasted in sales. I see the way you're being treated around here, why don't you come and work for me? I can put you on our repairs and upgrades team; somewhere that you can play to your strengths. Just say yes and you can start tomorrow."

Freddie was stunned by the offer. Part of him felt a loyalty to the Pear company; he was a long-time user of their products, which made this pretty much his dream job. However the events of today, the lack of support from his supervisor (in fact the opposite was the case) plus the arrival of Sam (along with her continual harassment) had meant that the job had totally lost its appeal for him. He smiled at Cousins.

"Sure, I'll let _Natalie_ know that I'm done here. What time do you want me to be there tomorrow?"

"Well I assume you still have school?" Freddie nodded to confirm. "Maybe six then for a four-hour shift?"

"I'll be there; I know where your store is."

"Excellent. I'm sure my team will look forward to working with someone with your expertise Freddie." And with that Freddie's new employer departed.

Freddie turned, intending to scan the store and find Natalie and inform her of his intention to leave. He was surprised, however, as he saw her making her way quickly towards him. She did not look pleased.

"Struck out again then?" she challenged without preamble.

"He wasn't in the mood to buy" he told her.

"You really can't sell anything to anyone can you?"

Freddie opened his mouth to respond but Natalie pressed on

"I have _no use_ for a sales team that can't sell; and that's disruptive around those who _do_ sell", jerking her head towards Sam, who stood smiling broadly behind her. "You're fired; I'll put your last pay check in the mail."

"Whatever" Freddie said, turned on his heel and walked out of the store without looking at any of his former colleagues, particularly the blonde who watched him depart with the expression of a child whose favourite toy has just been taken from her.

* * *

Instead of going straight home Freddie made the short walk to Cousins' store. He entered the shop seconds after his new boss, who looked surprised to see him. Freddie explained what had transpired and was invited into the back of the store where, within half-an-hour, his new contract was drawn up and signed by both parties. Afterwards, feeling the day had finished far better than seemed possible, he returned to Bushwell Plaza doing further research on constructive dismissal claims.

A surprise greeted him as he entered his home, apartment 8-D. The door to the Shay's (8-C) opened behind him as he was unlocking the door and Carly emerged, followed closely by Sam.

"Freddie," the brunette began, "Sam told me what happened; I'm so sorry to hear about it. Any chance of you getting your job back?"

"No" he said, pulling a sad face. "Natalie said I suck at sales; I guess she's right. Of course it doesn't help when someone butts in every time I start to talk to a customer." He gave Sam a disgusted look and turned his back on the girls.

"Look I'm sorry" the blonde began. "I know I mess with you a lot but I never meant for you to lose your job over it."

"Well I did" he snapped and walked inside, slamming the door in the girls' faces behind him. The two looked at one another.

"Now what do we do?" Carly asked her friend. Sam shrugged her shoulders, an unusually sombre look on her face. The pair retreated to Carly's room and discussed how they could possibly begin to make amends for further alienating Freddie. He, meanwhile, spent a productive evening researching computer repairs, making notes that he felt would complement his knowledge and improve his ability to do a good job for Mr Cousins and he began writing down everything he could think of that would be pertinent to any constructive dismissal case that he decided to bring between Natalie and the Pear company.

The following day at school saw Freddie in (to the girls) surprisingly high spirits. He wore a broad smile on his face while talking to people around school and also inside the classroom. In fact the only time he lost his smile was when one or other of the girls entered his line of sight. The expression he wore towards them convinced even Sam that she should not approach him so it was a timid and nervous Carly who approached the table where Freddie and a group of his friends from the AV club were eating their lunch.

"Can I join you?" she asked him.

"I'd rather you didn't" he replied before returning his attention to his sandwich. Carly looked helplessly at the other guys on the table; two of them gave her a sympathetic look and moved slightly apart, allowing her to draw up a chair and sit at the table. Freddie looked up at the trio, frowned, shook his head and then resumed eating. Seconds later Sam arrived at the table, joining it in a far less polite or eloquent way, simply pushing a chair next to Carly's, forcing one of the guys to move.

"'Sup Fredwad?" she drawled. "What's put you in a good mood and how do I stop it?" Freddie remained focussed on his meal and didn't dignify her presence with acknowledgement or her question with a response. Sam and Carly traded looks and she tried again.

"Look, how many times do I have to say I'm sorry for my part in… in what happened yesterday" Sam quickly covered what she had intended to say. Freddie's friends looked to one another in amazement; hearing Samantha Puckett apologise to anyone, let alone Freddie, was not something one expected. Freddie got up from the table.

"I'm not hungry anymore" he told his neighbours. With that he collected the remnants of his meal and left the canteen. The girls stared sadly after him before Sam put on a nonchalant, resolute expression.

"He could at least have left mama a sandwich" she grumbled at the table.

* * *

It was a day when Sam didn't work; she was, as usual, hanging at the Shays' apartment after school. Shortly after 5:30 she heard the Bensons' front door open and close; the sight of Freddie leaving piqued her curiosity. She motioned to Carly and the two followed the brown-haired boy at a discrete distance. They watched him get into his car; Carly felt in her jeans pocket for her own car keys and she and Sam made their way to her vehicle. The duo tailed Freddie into the middle of town, parking a few bays away from him and watching in surprise as he entered Cousins' Electrical Store. They entered the shop as Freddie made his way behind the Repairs desk and shook hands with a guy in his mid-30s as the two began talking. Their amazement increased as a customer handed Freddie her laptop, the boy smiling at her as they began a conversation; Sam assumed from the scene that it was to do with having Freddie attempt to fix the aforementioned item. She waited for the girl to depart before leaving Carly, who was seemingly rooted to the spot, and walking over to the desk.

"Who was that?" she asked as Freddie groaned in realisation that his life was again being invaded by his twin stalkers. "What's going on here? You got fired at Pear and end up here a day later?"

"Yes" he snapped. "Mr Cousins – and Miss Andrews – " he nodded at the girl leaving the store having deposited her faulty computer "actually appreciate my abilities and what I can do. Now if you haven't got anything to check in for repair would you please let me get back to work?" before turning away from the counter, currently bereft of customers (aside from Sam) and beginning the task of opening up Miss Andrews' laptop to begin the repair process. The blonde scowled at his back, spun around, walked back to where Carly was stood, grabbed her arm with a muttered "Come on" and they left the store.

It was with a genuine smile that Freddie left work at 10 p.m.; the confrontation with Sam was, he knew, not going to be the last one between them but at least for now he was out of her reach, doing a job he loved – and was good at – and could at least spend a lot of time away from her, or Carly's, clutches. He drove home, entered his apartment and his bedroom before calling up a few websites to begin pricing up gear for his planned return to the fencing studio.


	3. iFix Gibby's Phaser

**AN: Hello dear reader; welcome to chapter 3 of this story. While it DOES follow iBattle Chip to an extent I have had to make a few changes to the plots and subplots here and there. Please enjoy.**

* * *

Freddie stood panting, exhausted by his ordeal. He had begun fencing again a couple of weeks ago and his weekly lesson had gone well; he had wanted a little extra practice afterwards and decided to spar with one of the other teens present, unfortunately for him the only available opponent was a brash and experienced youngster. Freddie was clearly ring-rusty and his opponent showed him no mercy; with some nimble footwork and quick touches he put the result beyond doubt early on. Freddie battled gamely but simply received a thorough examination and another 'lesson'; on this occasion he was found wanting. His opponent toyed with him mercilessly, drawing Freddie in before easily repelling his attacks. Freddie kept his cool, reminding himself that his equipment was brand new and he was easing himself back into the sport, but it was a tiring experience for the brown-haired teen. Ultimately he was a distant second best in the contest, his opponent had set out to humiliate him but Freddie refused to allow it; at the end he simply offered a handshake and a smile, congratulating the slightly-younger teen and promising to be more of a challenge for him the next time they fought.

As he entered the Bushwell Plaza building (and received his usual screamed 'greeting' from the surly, bewarted doorman Lewbert) Freddie bumped into Gibby, who was on his way to visit the Shay's (and probably Sam, who spent far more time there than at her own home). Whilst Freddie didn't really want to talk to Gibby, he was after all one of the group that Freddie had washed his hands off post-Halfoween, the stocky teen had no such problems with him, noticed his new phone and decided to strike up a conversation.

"Hey Freddie, new phone? And not a Pearphone?" he asked in surprise; they were the staple choice for teenagers after all.

Freddie looked at him in mile exasperation but decided not to outright ignore him; they would be sharing an elevator up to the 8th floor after all. "I needed a new phone and didn't want to go into the Pear store."

"Why not?" Gibby asked, confused as the pair entered the elevator; he didn't know the whole story behind Freddie's change of employment with the two not being really on speaking terms. Sam had also not been forthcoming about the incident.

"I'd have to go into the Pear Store" he reiterated slightly impatiently.

"So?" Gibby's confusion had not lessened.

"Natalie would be there, _Sam_ could be there."

"Oh" Gibby replied before pausing as a thought struck him. "But this means you'll be on a different network to the rest of us; we can't see if you're around."

"Another bonus to the different phone then" Freddie replied bluntly. "Plus I got a nice staff discount by buying it at Cousins' Electrical store."

"Say Freddie" Gibby was eager to change the subject "I got this special effects phaser from the Galaxy Wars convention last year but my brother's been playing with it and well... it's stopped working; you know what kids are like" he joked. Freddie just looked at him; his expression saying 'is there a point to this and if so get to it'. "Anyway" Gibby hurriedly continued "I was wondering if you could take a look at it sometime for me?"

"Me doing you a favour would imply we were friends Gibby" Freddie replied tersely, surprising the taller teen with his response and tone.

At this point the pair had arrived at the hallway between apartments 8-C and 8-D; without another word to his former friend Freddie entered his home, leaving Gibby to stare at the closed door for a few seconds before shaking his head slightly and turning to enter the Shay residence.

* * *

Gibby entered the Cousins' Electricals store and scanned his surroundings. It was his first visit to Freddie's new place of employment and it took a few moments before he located the Repairs & Upgrades counter. He couldn't see Freddie there as he approached but was greeted by another staff member.

"Can I help you sir?" the young employee asked politely.

"Yes" Gibby began. "I have this toy phaser gun" he placed the artefact on the counter "and I was hoping to have it repaired."

"Is that a Galaxy Wars phaser?" the employee asked excitedly. Gibby nodded and the young man frowned slightly. "It's not really our area of expertise; we tend to deal more with phones and computers here."

"I think your colleague, Freddie Benson, would now how to fix it" Gibby explained.

"I'll ask him" the other said helpfully before turning to the back room. "Freddie?" he called, spying his workmate talking with their boss, the store's owner. Freddie turned in response and spied his schoolmate at the counter, along with the toy gun in his colleague's hand.

"I don't believe it" he muttered, shaking his head.

"Is there a problem?" his boss asked him in a surprised tone.

Freddie briefly explained the situation, about how Gibby was one of the people he used to count as a friend but now wanted nothing to do with and how he had approached him last night about fixing it but had declined – for the same reason.

"So you don't want to repair it?" his boss asked him.

Freddie sighed. "He's brought it in here, so he's a customer. I _can_ repair it and if we accept it then I'll do my job and fix it."

"It's not our area of expertise so I can bill it as a premium repair – and give you a small bonus as a result" Mr Cousins told him with a conspiratorial smile. Freddie returned the smile appreciatively.

Freddie completed his shift and left the store, bidding farewell to his colleagues. He wore a genuine smile as he did; Gibby's appearance had been turned into a positive by his boss, despite the sparring episode his return to fencing was coming along well, he had joined new tech and model train clubs and making some new, at least seemingly genuine friends (his guard was still slightly up around him as he remembered the experiences of the past). In short life was good for the former iCarly member.

"Hey Freddie!" a female voice called to him as he turned towards home. He looked over his shoulder in response, his eyes widening and smile growing as he recognised its owner.

"Ashley! Hey, how are you?" he greeted the 'hot and not-so-stupid' former intern who had briefly (all too brief in his opinion) been a co-worker at the Pear Store.

"Really good thanks" she began before her smile faltered. "I do miss working with you though" she admitted, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Well Natalie wanted a salesman, Sam wanted me to not sell _anything_ and she got her way – as usual" he concluded, unable to keep the bitterness from his voice.

"She should have kept you on the Brilliance Bar with me" she complained. "You were perfectly suited there."

"It's pretty much what I do here" he indicated to the store behind him. "It works very well for me; it's just a shame it didn't work as well there. Still" he brightened "at least I don't have to deal with Sam on a daily basis when I'm here." He glanced at his watch.

"Oh are you in a hurry to go?" she asked.

"Not really, no"

"Do you uh..." she began, shyness creeping into the college sophomore's voice and up her face "do you want to maybe catch a movie?"

"I'd like that" he smiled "and maybe get something to eat after?"

Ashley matched his smile with one of her own.

* * *

The pair left the mall complex having enjoyed a thoroughly pleasant evening in one another's company; the movie hadn't been to Freddie's taste but had been suitably bad that Ashley didn't really appreciate it either so they had spent most of the time quietly mocking it and battling to control their laughter so as not to upset other patrons. Once outside, however, Ashley sighed and addressed Freddie

"Well, I've got to go. My theses won't write themselves unfortunately."

"Ok" he smiled. "Hopefully we can do this again sometime?"

"Definitely" she insisted before leaning in to give Freddie a quick peck on the cheek. "Bye" she said, looking shyly at the ground.

"Bye Ashley" he replied and the two went their separate ways, Freddie absent-mindedly touching his cheek where she had kissed him.

As Freddie returned to the 8th floor of Bushwell Plaza he was greeted by a boy running past him, narrowly missing him as he rounded the corner. What was more surprising was that ahead of them was a naked Spencer, sprinting towards his and Carly's apartment. Freddie shook his head as the young boy retreated up the corridor, passing him without comment, and he walked towards his apartment. The door to 8-C was still open and, as he unlocked his front door, he heard a soft, feminine voice behind him.

"Oh Chuck; he lives to torment Spencer."

Freddie turned to see Carly looking at and addressing him before he turned his gaze back to his front door.

"How many times do I have to apologise for you to believe me?" Carly's voice had increased in shrillness.

"I believe you Carly" he told her, sighing as he turned to face the brunette "but now I have _real_ friends; people to whom I am more than just an afterthought."

With those words he went inside his apartment, closing the door behind him, unconsciously touching his cheek again and leaving Carly stood there, a weight growing on her heart and a sad look on her face.

* * *

It was a sleepless night for Carly but she used it to concoct a plan; it was her one, last, desperate effort to win back Freddie's friendship. She realised now that she had failed him; that she had hurt him through her past actions and inactions and, while he had accepted her apology, he didn't want to deal with her anymore. Reflecting on it she could understand that but it didn't mean she liked it. So she woke and dressed early, ate a quick breakfast and waited just inside her front door, listening for Freddie leaving and looking through the peep-hole almost constantly, just in case he somehow read her mind and tried to escape by opening and closing the door silently.

It was to Freddie's surprise, therefore, that as soon as he opened his front door the door opposite opened as well and there stood Carly, a remorseful look on her face. Before Freddie could react she stepped forward and looked him in the eye saying

"I've said I'm sorry; you know I'm sorry. I can't change the past Freddie; if I could then I would. All I can do is ask you to please give me the chance to do better in the future."

Freddie looked at her, trying to size her up. After a few seconds of the brown-haired teens looking at one another he took a deep breath.

"Like I said last night Carly, since what happened on Halfoween things have changed for me; I've made some real friends and started to build a really good life." Her face fell at where this seemed to be going. "I do miss being around you Carly but things couldn't carry on the way they were going." She opened her mouth to speak but he pressed on. "You've realised that yourself so... we'll see where things take us. I'm not going to _avoid_ you but I have my own interests; my job, my fencing, my clubs. If you can work around them then we'll see."

Carly gave him a small smile; what he'd said was about the best that she could hope for at the moment.

"When are you free?" she asked softly.

"I've no plans for tonight at the moment"

"How about we get a pizza in? I'll send Sam; she knows how to get extra pepperoni out of them…" she smiled.

Freddie's smile wavered a little; he wasn't too sure about letting Sam back into his life but he accepted that she and Carly came as something of a package so he just nodded his acquiescence. Figuring that they may as well start the rebuilding process for their friendship here and now he asked "Do you want a ride to school?"

Carly smiled and accepted; the brown haired pair made their way to his car.

* * *

After school had ended Freddie drove himself, Carly and Sam back towards Bushwell Plaza. Cam got out at the pizzeria armed with $20 from Carly. The brown-haired pair continued the journey to their homes; Freddie called in to 8-D to deposit his school bag and pick up his wallet. His mom was home, however, and she drew him into conversation about how their days had been.

Meanwhile Carly was preparing her apartment for the arrival of Sam and Freddie. A couple of minutes later the blonde arrived via the service elevator directly into her apartment.

"Hey" she greeted her friend, handing her the pizza box. Carly opened it eagerly then turned to her friend with an annoyed expression on her face.

"There's no pepperoni on here!"

"That's weird; they must have forgotten to put them on it" the blonde replied, an unmistakably guilty look on her face. It was a look her friend knew all too well.

"Did you EAT all the pepperoni off the pizza?"

"NO!" she denied.

"Open your mouth… wider" Carly commanded. Sam complied and Carly sniffed for a trace of pepperoni on her breath.

"Nothing" she said in mild surprise before a knock on the front door attracted her attention; she didn't see Sam retrieve the meat slices from her jacket pocket and surreptitiously begin eating them.

"Hey; I'm ready for pizza" Freddie declared as Carly opened the door to him.

"Hey; I'm ready for $7 for the pizza" she countered equally jovially.

Freddie handed her a $10 bill; Carly promised to get his change once she had it.

"They forgot to put pepperoni on it" the brunette informed him.

"Are you sure Sam hasn't eaten it?" Freddie accused.

"No, she checked" the blonde defended; Freddie eyed her suspiciously as he sat on the couch and reached for a slice.

Freddie was at work the following day; Gibby called in during his shift to enquire as to the status of the repair to his toy gun. Freddie explained that he had some difficulties but that it was done. Gibby paid for the repair but, as he had errands to run, he asked if Freddie could bring it with him to Carly's that evening and give it to him then, something Freddie agreed to. Before Gibby could leave the store Freddie had a warning for him.

"I tried to make it work the way it used to but I couldn't; I tried a few different circuit boards and finally found one that works. Be careful; for some reason it's a lot more powerful now."

"How do you mean?"

"Watch" he said and aimed the gun at the empty soda bottle the chubby teen had set on the counter. He fired it and reduced the bottle to a smouldering heap of plastic in seconds.

"That is _so_ cool" Gibby exclaimed, excitement brightening his features.

"I'll see you at Carly's later" he told Freddie and exited the store.

* * *

Carly sat on her couch channel-hopping; she came across a show on Dingo called "Sing sing dance dance" and made a face in bemusement at what passes for entertainment these days. Her viewing was distracted when Spencer emerged from his room on roller blades whooping in delight. It transpired that he had reported Chuck to the cops for his behaviour and his tormentor had been despatched to military school. A thought occurred to Carly as she watched Spencer skating in delight.

"I thought your blades were broken"

"I fixed them" her brother explained, sitting at the kitchen table and resting a foot on the table. "See?" he said, spinning the wheels at her. Perhaps predictably they instantly caught fire. "Argh, Carly, do something!" he implored.

His little sister calmly walked to the fridge, retrieved a weenie, skewered it and began to roast it on Spencer's foot flame.

* * *

Spencer bladed down the hallway away from the elevator and towards his home, a bag of groceries in hand. He was distracted by a plate laid on the floor, a sandwich upon it. Curiosity got the better of him and he stooped to pick up the food. His mistake was punished by a 9-year-old leaping onto his back, sending him and his shopping to the floor.

"I'm Chip" whispered his assailant, "Chuck's brother."

_Oh dear I'm in trouble_ the gangly artist thought.

Freddie chose that moment to emerge from the elevator; he surveyed the scene before him, selected a ripe, green apple and a bunch of bananas before he continued his journey to Carly's.

Sam was sat at the kitchen counter, her trusty butter-sock in hand, a tub of butter and a bowl filled with a mould-ridden substance either side of her.

"What are you doing?" enquired Carly as she arrived in the living area.

"Changing the butter in the butter-sock" the blonde explained nonchalantly.

"What's the green stuff in the bowl?"

"The old butter"

"Ewww"

"Hey girls" Freddie greeted with a smile as he entered the apartment.

"Hey Freddie, what have you got there?" Carly asked with a smile of her own, noticing the phaser in his hand.

"It's Gibby's Galaxy Wars phaser" he explained "I repaired it for him at work and he's going to pick it up tonight."

"If you're going to nerd-babble I'm going for a wazz" declared Sam and headed for the bathroom.

"It's a lot more powerful than it used to be; watch this" Freddie told Carly excitedly and hung the bananas above the Shays' kitchen table. He turned the phaser towards it and fired, reducing the fruit to a smouldering charred mass the way it had the soda bottle earlier.

"That's kinda dangerous" the brunette noted.

"Yeah; I don't know what happened" the brown-eyed boy told her.

"Gibbehhh" announced Gibby as he joined the group in apartment 8-C.

"Here's your phaser Gibby" Freddie told him, holding the phaser towards him but continuing to look at Carly.

"Thanks man" and Gibby seized the gun before aiming at the centre of the apartment's back door. He fired and burned a circular hole in the glass, just as Sam returned to the main living area.

"This is the greatest thing that ever happened to me!" the tall teen enthused.

"I guess we'll get a new door" Carly said, resignation in her voice at yet more damage besetting her home.

"Wow, that _is_ cool" said Sam, suddenly interested by the destructive power of the weapon. She yanked it from Gibby's hand and turned it on Freddie, firing and burning a hole in his shirt and causing an angry welt to appear near his sternum before he fell to the floor.

"SAM!" admonished Carly in fury looking as the area around Freddie's wound began to blister. "What the hell did you do that for?"

"It was fun" she explained with a smirk.

As soon as he could stand, Freddie's response to Sam's turning the phaser on him was to storm from the Shay apartment, pulling his phone from his pocket and with a furious look on his face.

"Freddie?" Carly called as he walked through the doorway. "What are you doing? Where are you going?" She caught up with him as he unlocked his own door.

"I'm doing what I should have done five years ago" he told her as he entered 8-D. "Hello, Seattle Police Department?" he spoke into his phone. "Yes I want to report an assault...-"

The door clicked shut; Carly could hear no more. She turned and re-entered her own home, a perturbed look on her face.


	4. iJoin A Band

**AN: Hello everyone and welcome, at long last, to the latest part of this story. As you can probably guess from the chapter title it is based around the events of the most recent episode, iGet Banned. If you've been following the story then I hope you'll appreciate why it's unlikely (though not impossible) that there'll be an episode centred around iShock America.**

**Before I continue with the story I would like to take a moment to thank those of you who reviewed the previous chapter (and encourage anyone reading this who hasn't read that chapter to do so as it really is essential to understand the sub-plot) so kitty tokyo uzumaki (and Freddie has an answer for the question you asked in this part), aprilmay279, chica13, hejk12345, digger12 and Rihaan – my thanks to you all for your kind words and reviews.**

**Now on with the story.**

* * *

Freddie was lying back on his bed, eyes closed and deep in thought. He reflected on recent events, primarily him reporting Sam to the cops; after doing so he had given them a statement and had amazed himself at just how long it was. What also amazed him was just how _freeing_ it felt to give the statement and how liberated he felt now that he had got _everything_ from the last five years off his chest; he felt as if poison was being drained from his system as he spoke about it with them. Obviously the physical wound from the phaser blast had been of particular interest to the police but they had also focussed particularly on the incident at "Fred's", where she had beaten him with a tennis racquet and thrown him from the tree house before leaping out to land feet-first on top of him.

One question they _had_ asked was why he didn't report her sooner; with hindsight it was a question he was asking himself every day – and he found himself no closer to finding a satisfactory answer. The whole 'Sam' issue, meanwhile, was putting a strain on his partially repaired friendship with Carly; whenever he saw her he could see in her eyes that she wanted to ask him to ask the cops to drop the charges (though with her record they would be unlikely to acquiesce; she had made herself an easy target for them now) but the brunette also knew that _he_ wouldn't, so her mentioning it would simply cause an unnecessary and unwinnable argument, something she'd discovered when she _had_ briefly broached the issue.

"_So you're really gonna testify against my best friend?" she asked in a soft voice, laced with a hint of accusation._

"_This isn't about you Carly" he retorted with a shake of his head. "It's about the irredeemably evil bitch who has tortured, tormented, hurt and humiliated me for half a decade. And it's about THIS," He pulled his shirt to one side exposing the welt that had yet to fully heal from where she had shot him with the powerful phaser. "THOSE are the reasons why I won't let her get away with what she's done to me."_

His words had stunned and stung Carly but had persuaded (or forced) her to drop the subject. Freddie was a little upset that she actually felt she had just cause to be annoyed or angry with him, despite witnessing what had happened and seeing that the blonde was the one at fault with yet another unprovoked attack on him; but it made him think back to why he wanted to wash his hands of her altogether a few weeks earlier and the knowledge that he was prepared to kick her back to the kerb at any moment allowed him to easily shrug off her attempted guilt-trip. The former iCarly member turned his thoughts to the other, more pleasant, areas of his life; he had become a valued member of his new tech and model train clubs, his fencing was improving week-by-week and his new job was going well. Thoughts of work, however, caused a pang of regret as they led him to Ashley; the two had decided, after a few dates, not to pursue a romantic relationship. Problems included the age gap; she was a college sophomore, he a high school senior (it wasn't a huge issue for them but their wider social circles were making it difficult). More importantly, while they were friends, shared some interests and their time together was very enjoyable for them both, they talked and realised that neither was really feeling that _spark_ so they agreed to just be friends, to meet up on occasion catch a movie here and there if it appealed to them but none of their peers or just hang and go for a coffee after they'd finished their respective shifts at work (her at the Pear Store, he at Cousins').

As it happened Freddie was soon to be glad of this development; he was about to meet a girl who would turn his whole world upside down…

* * *

One of Freddie's new interests he was pursuing had been to learn an instrument; having quickly become moderately proficient in playing the guitar he joined a local band – along with Gibby who, it turned out, played bass. After the phaser incident the two seemed to be getting on a little better; he had grudgingly accepted that having Carly as a friend again would inevitably lead to Gibby and Spencer (and, before the incident, Sam) around too, even if he had drawn the line at coming back to iCarly in any role. He had also made it clear to all of them that he had little patience or tolerance for anyone treating him badly in the future.

Carly, meanwhile, was preparing for a date with a guy she'd met at the Groovy Smoothie. It was difficult for her to get ready as Spencer was hobbling around the Shay apartment on crutches, having broken his leg in the shower the previous week. The teen was finishing the application of her make-up when T-Bo, the owner of the Groovy Smoothie and tenant at the Benson apartment across the hall-way, walked into 8-C parading a contraption akin to a cross-bow. The bemused brunette watched helplessly as he drew a lemon from his pocket and loaded it into the weapon, shooting behind her and smashing a glass on the shelving by the apartment's back door.

"T-Bo!" she snapped.

"I know what I did wrong" he attempted, in vain, to mollify her. "And see? I got another lemon here". He rushed to her side, loaded the fruit and fired towards the front door, just as the girl's date arrived. The projectile knocked the boy out cold and the girl turned to her "guest" with a furious expression.

"I got an appointment" he pointed to his watch.

"Get out and don't come back" she snapped.

"What?" T-Bo was incredulous.

"You heard me; you're banned!"

Without waiting for him to respond she dashed to her prone date to check for a pulse.

* * *

Further bad news for the brunette arrived the following day in the shape of her grandfather; news of Sam's arrest, the story of her sustained abuse of Freddie and the conclusion Granddad Shay reached that others must have been aware of it led to him questioning, again, whether or not Spencer was fit to be Carly's guardian, particularly in the light of his latest self-inflicted injury. She was still 17 and the elder Shay felt that he had to act; he would be visiting again, and talking with Carly's father as well as Spencer, to see if the girl would be better off living with him in Yakima.

On receiving this news the red mist descended on the brunette; she stormed across the hallway and began hammering on the door to apartment 8-D and screaming Freddie's name. Her former tech-producer casually answered the door and leaned against the wall; in a bored voice he asked what the problem was.

"The _problem_ is that Granddad's pissed that Spencer didn't say anything to Sam when she…" Carly trailed off; she still seemed unwilling to verbalise what Sam had done to Freddie over the years, perhaps thinking that if she didn't speak of it then it wasn't real. "He thinks he's not fit to be my guardian! I'm not 18 yet Freddie; I could be sent to Yakima and it's all your fault!"

This accusation brought a flash of fury to the young man's eyes.

"MY fault?" he blasted. "You're saying it's MY fault that Sam hit me for no reason at all for years while you all stood and watched? That it's MY fault that Spencer never even tried to stop her? That YOU never tried to stop her?" He shook his head as she quailed from his verbal unloading. "It's my fault that _I_ never stopped her before now but don't you DARE try to pin the blame for yours or Spencer's failure on _me_ Carly Shay"

* * *

Freddie stepped back inside apartment 8-D and slammed the door angrily in the stunned web hostess's face.

Carly leaned against her own front door, eyes closed and deep in thought. She sighed as she processed his words, reluctantly acknowledging the truth that was within them. She went back inside her own home to give Freddie half an hour to cool down before she returned with an apology for the boy. He accepted it along with her invitation to go for a smoothie and the pair made their way to their usual haunt.

"Oh I need to visit the ladies' room" she commented as they entered. "Can you wait a minute and I'll get the smoothies? My way of apologising for…" she trailed off. Freddie smiled his understanding. The boy's eye scanned the room and he saw a couple of attractive girls roughly his age sat at a table by themselves; one blonde, one brunette. He smiled at the brunette and she smiled back; he took that as an invitation to join them at the table.

"Hello ladies" he began charmingly, flashing a boyish smile at them, particularly the brunette. "I haven't seen you around here before."

The blonde, seeing her friend rather taken with the boy, volunteered "I'm going to get us another smoothie each."

"Yeah sure" her friend commented, sounding distracted as she continued to eye the newcomer.

The brown-haired pair was deep in conversation, with the blonde smiling at them from the counter, when Gibby arrived at the Groovy Smoothie. The thick-set teen felt a pang of jealousy at seeing Freddie talking to an attractive girl and, like he did with Patrice, moved in on Freddie's turf.

"Hello" he declared, taking a seat uninvited with the pair.

"Hey Gib" Freddie muttered unenthusiastically.

"Friend of yours?" he enquired, jerking his head towards the girl.

"Kimberley is in a band too" he explained. "We've been trading stories."

"I'm in the band too" Gibby told her brightly.

"Oh are you?" she asked disinterestedly before turning back to Freddie. "Actually we've got to go" she shot a glance at her blonde friend who was returning with their drinks "but here" she handed him a scrap of paper "is my number; why don't you call me sometime?"

"I will do that" Freddie smiled.

"I've got the new pearphone" Gibby told her, proffering the pear-shaped device in her direction.

"Good for you" she said sarcastically before getting up and leaving the establishment with her friend.

Freddie smiled after them, not seeing the glower Gibby directed at him. The taller teen dropped it just as Carly emerged from the restroom and waved at the pair as she walked to the counter.

"Hey T-Bo, can I get two Strawberry Splats please?" she asked politely.

"No" he said simply.

"Huh?"

"You're banned."

"I'm WHAT?"

"You heard me; you banned me from your place so you're banned from mine. You can go elsewhere for your smoothies" and he walked a few paces to his left to deal with another customer, leaving the brunette spluttering behind him.

"What's up?" She hadn't realised that Freddie had risen from the table; he was by her side.

"T-Bo's banned me because I kicked him out of our apartment for knocking my date out."

Freddie was momentarily at a loss for words. "Ah, let me handle this" he soothed. "Wait outside; I'll be there in a minute."

Carly huffily left the Groovy Smoothie; Freddie joined her a few moments later wielding two Strawberry Splats. A disgruntled and empty-handed Gibby followed him a few moments later.

"Thanks" she smiled. "Let me pay for them at least since I'm meant to be treating you as an apology."

"Meh, just get some snacks in next time we have movie night at your place."

"Deal" she laughed.

Carly was to be disappointed, however, that movie night did not happen any time soon; Freddie called Kimberley that evening and fixed up a date. The date went well and the two had been out every night that Freddie wasn't working, meaning Carly was limited to seeing the boy only when they were at school or briefly when they were coming or going from their respective apartments. The brunette had met Kimberley briefly, at the beginning of one of their dates, and seen her in Freddie's company a couple of times since. She found herself extremely unhappy with the way the singer was monopolising Freddie's time.

"Why is he spending so much time with that _skunkbag_?" lamented the web-star as she and Spencer ate dinner one night; their grandfather was still in discussion with their father but for now had returned alone to Yakima.

"Maybe because she treats him right?" her brother suggested, earning himself a look of incredulity from his little sister. "He was right" the artist persisted "on Halfoween; you, me, all of us – we didn't treat him as well as we should have. Tolerating what Sam did to him was wrong on our part as well. If she is doing right by him then it makes sense that he wants to spend his time with her."

Carly said nothing; she had no answer to those points. Instead she sat in gloomy silence while the jealousy simmered inside her.

* * *

Banned as she was from the Groovy Smoothie, Carly had to find another place to sate her smoothie cravings. The brunette eventually found a place a couple of blocks further from her Bushwell Plaza home and became a regular fixture at the place. The smoothies weren't as good as the ones she was used to but it was something she had to deal with. She was surprised one day to see Kimberley sat at a table, surrounded by others and deep in discussion with them; the brunette assumed them to be her band-mates. Carly's jealousy flared another notch as she looked at the girl; she took a seat on her own at a table near them and kept a wary eye on the group as she drained her drink.

Eventually the band members began to go their separate ways until just Kimberley and her blonde friend were left at the table. The blonde disappeared in the direction of the restrooms and Carly spotted her chance. She sidled over to her fellow brunette's table and slid into a seat across from her.

"Hey" she began sweetly.

"Oh hey Carly" Kimberley greeted.

"You know he's still in love with me, don't you?" Carly shot at the girl, deciding to forego preamble. "Oh yeah" she continued, seeing the stunned look on her rival's face "you may be dulling the pain or taking his fancy for now but if I snap my fingers Freddie will come running."

A bewildered Kimberley just looked at her for a few seconds. "You're crazy" she finally commented. Then, seeing her friend emerge from the restrooms, got up from the table. "C'mon" she urged "I've had enough of being stalked." She gestured to Carly and her blonde friend nodded as the two left.

"Well that didn't go well" Carly muttered, finishing her smoothie, getting up and following them out.

* * *

"Oh hey Freddie" she greeted him brightly in the hallway between their apartments; he was just leaving as she arrived.

"So you're going to act like nothing has happened?" he asked with an air of incredulity. "Kim called" he supplied, confirming her worst fears. "What the hell Carly?" he snapped, shaking his head at her. When she didn't reply he shook his head. "I've got to meet my girlfriend" he announced as he walked past her. She bowed her head slightly as he left before entering her own home with an air of despondency enveloping her.

Later that evening Carly gathered up the courage to go and look for Freddie; she had heard him returning and glanced through the peephole, feeling extremely thankful that he couldn't see her, such was the look of thunder on his face. The web hostess had had plenty of time to reflect on her actions and wasn't proud of herself for her behaviour; she resolved to apolgise to him before what was left of their friendship crumbled to dust.

The boy wasn't in his apartment (T-Bo was alone there, making it an awkward encounter for the girl) so she made her way to the 8th floor fire escape (Freddie's favourite 'alone spot') and saw him sat there gazing across the city. She slid onto the concrete wall and sat next to him; the brown-haired teen pointedly ignored her.

"Hey" the brunette whispered softly. He continued to look away. "Are you ever going to talk to me again?" she persisted.

"Wasn't planning on it" he snapped harshly, still refusing to look at her. She gasped and he finally DID meet her eyes. "Are you surprised? You tried to screw up my relationship Carly, that's beyond pretty low." She bowed her head in shame. "Why did you do it? To hurt me over Sam being arrested?"

"No" she whispered as tears leaked from her eyes. "I was…" and she bit her tongue. _Jealous?_ The thought hit her like a thunderbolt with a question chasing after it into her mind - How could she be jealous when she didn't want him _that way_?

"I get it" his tone remained harsh. "You don't want me but you don't want me to move on; you just want a love-sick puppy making you feel all special."

The web star's shoulders sagged even further as if in confirmation.

"Go back inside Carly, there's nothing more to say." With that Freddie turned away from her again, ignoring the tears flooding down the brunette's cheeks.

"I'm sorry" she whispered. "I'm so, so sorry."

He didn't respond so she rose and climbed back inside, not seeing the look of sadness on the brown-haired boy's face.

* * *

Despite Carly's best efforts, Freddie's relationship with Kimberley was going well, as were other things in the young man's life. He was enjoying practicing with his band (The Floors) and was excited about their forthcoming gig; they had been booked to play at an event taking place at Ridgeway Junior High School. He was slightly surprised that he didn't feel even a little disappointed that he wouldn't be able to take part in the event itself (as they would be performing pretty much all evening); he realised this was another part of him washing his hands of what had made his life a misery in the past. He had invited Kimberley and some of her friends to the event and been able to secure them a table close to the band. He knew Carly would also be there, as would most of the school, but was ambivalent about it; the two had barely spoken since the brunette had accosted his girlfriend.

One thing Freddie was still unaware of was how jealous Gibby felt about him dating Kimberley…

* * *

"Hello Seattle!" Freddie announced, flicking a special smile at his girl. Gibby gritted his teeth at the sight, the teen's jealousy flaring another notch. "We're the Floors and we're gonna ROCK THIS SCHOOL TONIIIIIGHT!"

The gig was a triumph; the crowd were on their feet cheering as the band's final song finished. Freddie got back into his position, waving confidently to his girlfriend's group as he did. Seeing them all wave back caused something within Gibby to snap; he sidled over to Freddie and made sure to shove him with his arm as the brown-haired teen stepped backwards. This caused Freddie to stumble slightly, drawing a gasp from the crowd – particularly Carly who was watching events unfold with a concerned expression on her face.

"Dude? What was that for?" Freddie snapped, opening his arms wide as he did.

Gibby didn't reply, instead the taller teen shoved Freddie again. The other band members took a couple of steps forward, one put a restraining hand on Gibby's shoulder only for him to shrug them off and continue glaring at Freddie, though by this time the former tech producer had turned away from him and was trying to cover the unpleasantness by waving at the crowd again. Taking their cue from him, the other band members did likewise – except for Gibby.

The chubby teen's ire only grew at the renewed attention Freddie was drawing from the crowd, particularly the girls at the front, and he responded by throwing a wild punch at the lead guitarist. He caught him a glancing blow and his target spun to face him, shock on his face quickly morphing into anger. Freddie retaliated by throwing a left that connected solidly with the heavier boy's jaw, followed by a quick right that broke his nose. A left uppercut sent him crashing to the ground.

"Freddie!" shouted Carly, seemingly the only person in the room not transfixed by the altercation. The brunette weaved through the tables as she dashed up to the stage watching Freddie dive on top of Gibby as she did; he was raining punches on the other. The web hostess wrapped her arms around her former friend's back, pinning his arms to his side. He struggled against her as she clung on tightly, one hand gripping her other and determined not to let go.

"Freddie," she repeated, this time in a whisper. "Stop." He continued to wriggle. "Stop" she repeated. "Please."

The boy relented and stood up as she released him. He looked from Carly to Gibby, taking in his bruised, battered and blooded features and then to his girlfriend, stood staring at him in shock – and more than a little hurt as she saw what Carly had done and how he had reacted, particularly the warm smile the brunette gave him when she saw a brief flash of the old Freddie in his eyes as he looked at her. He turned back to Carly.

"I gotta get out of here" he stammered and dashed from the venue. A lot of people watched him go but two girls in particular stared sadly after him.

* * *

**AN: Liked it? Loved it? Hated it? Don't be shy in letting me know.**

**More than likely there will be another chapter next week, based on iFind Spencer Friends; it all depends on what happens in that episode. It's possible that it will explore the Freddie/Spencer friendship in a little more detail than has happened so far in this story.** **Thank you for reading and I hope to see you all soon.**


	5. iCelebrate Spencer's Birthday

**AN: Welcome to the latest chapter. As promised it will be based around iFind Spencer Friends but will follow on from last week's chapter. I really enjoyed the episode we've just had, though I do feel Emma Stone was wasted in such a brief cameo; hmm if only somebody could write a fic that could possibly rectify that…**

**My huge thanks to everyone who read the chapter and for all your kind reviews; your responses to chapter 4 was fantastic. A particular shout out to Subject87 who had the dubious honour of providing this story's 2000****th**** hit. Virtual high-five to you my friend. As for Carly's loyalties… they may get explored further as the story evolves.**

**BushwellNYC – thank you and I am glad to know that I am not the only person who hates Gibby with a passion; at least in the last episode he had his own subplot which allowed the others to recreate the dynamic that made the show so good in the past.**

**Agent-M/hejk – without giving it all away, if we go back to the start it was about Freddie turning his back on the others and building a better life. He won't throw it away for anybody so Carly and Spencer's future involvement or lack thereof depends on their willingness to fit in with him and not the other way around.**

**ClassicFreakshow and digger12 – thank you.**

**DwynArthur – you make some excellent points, particularly about what happens if you look beyond the first glance at the so-called cartoon violence.**

**LuckyFallenStarBaby – Thank you; I'm not sure, though, about the idea of Freddie actually attacking Sam. If she was involved in the story again and swung first that's one thing but him starting it… not something I'd be comfortable writing to be honest.**

**Now on with the show…**

* * *

"We need to talk," Freddie heard as he leaned against the door of his car, breathing heavily. The brown-haired teen was trying to process the night's events and how a gig had somehow turned into a fight between him and Gibby and how Carly had stepped in to stop him from doing any more damage to his (now _definitely_ former, he mused) friend. Kimberley had followed him outside and he turned to face his girlfriend. He could see Carly stood a few yards away; the girl had followed them out of the school and was eyeing them nervously.

"Freddie, what happened back there?" Kimberley asked gingerly.

"I dunno, suddenly he swung on me from nowhere so I swung back."

"I know that, I meant _her_," and she jerked her thumb at the brunette, "grabbing you. The way she looked at you and you at her. Was she right? Do you still love her? Are we… are we over?" her voice was laced with sad resignation.

"What? No!" he insisted. Carly's heart sank a little at his denial while Kimberley's eyes lit up with hope. He slipped his arm around his girlfriend and steered her into his car, sliding in next to her and closing the door to give them some privacy. Carly watched this sadly before turning away from them and walking over to sit on the steps outside the school, her chin in her hands and elbows propped on her knees.

"I don't know what I felt" he began, staring out of the front windscreen. "It was all a mess; Gibby swinging, Carly being that close, talking like that." He sighed and turned to face his girlfriend. "Yes, it made me feel _something_. But she's had her chance, I've given enough time to that girl and I don't want to give her any more of it – hell, I don't even know how she feels about me. I do know how _I_ feel about _you_; I want this" he pointed from himself to her "to work between us."

"How do you feel about _her_?" Kim persisted.

"I've wanted a shot with her since I was eleven years old" he admitted. "Every time I try to move on she goes and reels me back in like I'm a dog on a retracting leash. Finally, though, I'm ready to get off the leash and she's going to have to deal with that." He leaned in and kissed her, she eagerly reciprocated.

Across the car park Carly saw the silhouettes come together in the back of Freddie's car; the brunette's heart plunged ever further.

One enjoyable and heated make-out session later Freddie drove his girl home before heading back to Bushwell Plaza; he had yet to hear from the band about the fall-out from the on-stage brawl but he was dreading the call saying that they would be kicking him out due to the bad publicity the band were bound to get as a result of such a public fight between two of its members. He chose to put that out of his mind for the time being and think back to how well things were going with Kim. He could understand her fears over Carly, given the history between her and Freddie, but he was happy that he seemed to have convinced her that the web star was out of the picture as a potential romantic interest.

He parked up and, ignoring Lewbert's complaints, took the elevator up to the 8th floor of the complex. As he rounded the corner and approached his front door he stopped as he saw Carly unlocking her own door just ahead of him. The brunette turned to him and forced herself to smile, though Freddie noted the sadness in her eyes that she tried to hide.

"So you and her, it's for real?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"I hope so" he replied, working hard to keep a smile from his own face as he thought about his girlfriend.

"Oh, that's great" she mustered all the enthusiasm she could into her voice. "I'm happy for you but… could you do me a favour?"

"What is it?" he enquired curiously.

"It's just that… with Sam out of the picture and Gibby now… and you're not going to be around – maybe" she eyed him nervously; he kept a neutral expression on his face. "Anyway, it's Spencer's birthday coming up and with all that has happened – and me heading off to college before long… well, he's going to need some new friends – ideally some around his own age."

"You're right there" Freddie laughed. Carly shared a chuckle and the tension dissipated from the hallway in an instant.

"So can you help me find some people we could invite to his birthday party?" she asked hopefully.

"Sure" he smiled. "Hey you want to get a smoothie after school tomorrow?"

"I'd love to" she agreed.

* * *

The pair's trip to the new smoothie place Carly had recently discovered provided them with their first opportunity to find a new friend for Carly's older brother. Freddie paid for two strawberry smoothies and turned to see the brunette casually glancing towards a guy in his early thirties sat alone at a table. She turned her gaze back to her former tech producer and they nodded at one another before making their way to the man's table and asking to join him. He seemed surprised that two teenagers would want to join him, particularly with empty tables available, but acquiesced to their request.

"So I was just wondering," Carly began conversationally, "how come you're here alone?"

"I work nights" the guy, who introduced himself as Darnell, explained. "And most of my friends work days – which means I don't get many opportunities to hang with them."

"Well we have a friend with _no_ job" Carly continued, seizing upon the opportunity presenting itself.

"So he can hang out with you all the time" interjected Freddie.

"And he makes sculptures" Carly volunteered, as if to sweeten the deal.

"Out of garbage" added Freddie unnecessarily.

"And sometimes he wears socks that light up" Carly whispered conspiratorially.

"Keep talking" Darnell encouraged.

With one potential friend for the lanky artist successfully recruited the two teens chose to split up. Carly went to the local supermarket while Freddie headed to the fencing studio.

* * *

Sat in the locker room after his sparring session the boy spotted a man around Spencer's age stood by his locker in the otherwise deserted room. Spotting his chance Freddie sidled over to the man.

"Excuse me; could you take a look at this guy?" he asked politely, proffering a photograph of Spencer in the newcomer's direction. "How would you like to be friends with this guy?"

Carly, meanwhile, was walking nonchalantly around the organic fruit and vegetable section of the supermarket. The brunette overheard two guys deep in heated conversation and, taking care not to draw attention to herself, she edged towards the duo to better overhear their argument.

"You never want to do anything with me anymore" one lamented. "And you never make a decision without involving your girlfriend."

"She doesn't like cilantro okay?" the other snapped.

"You know what?" the first shot back. "You can find yourself a new best friend." And he stormed off leaving the other holding a sprig of cilantro.

"So, you need a new best friend huh?" Carly asked confidently. The guy looked at her oddly. "My brother _loves_ cilantro."

* * *

Freddie and Carly sat on the couch watching TV in apartment 8-C; their plan was about to be put into action.

"Ok, are you guys ready to go bowling?" Spencer asked excitedly as he emerged from his room. "Guess who made his own ball!" he declared happily, retrieving the item from a bag.

"Spencer? That ball's not round." Freddie observed.

"So? Ok, it's not perfect but that makes it special" the artist protested.

"It makes _you_ special" Freddie joked; Carly giggled to his left before getting to her feet.

"Um actually, we're not going bowling."

"Aww" he groaned. "So what _are_ we doing?"

"_We're_ not doing anything" she informed him. "_You_ are going out to dinner with some friends."

"Who" he asked in confusion.

Right on cue the elevator buzzed and the three guys the pair had recruited emerged to enter the apartment.

"Spencer – these are your new friends" Carly told him.

It was an extremely unenthusiastic Spencer who left with the trio. As he closed the apartment door Freddie glanced at his watch and gave a start.

"Oh, I've got to go and meet Kim. I'll catch you later Carls." He gave the girl a warm, if quick, hug that she readily returned before he followed the quartet out the door.

Carly sat back down on the couch with a mournful expression on her face as he departed. She turned her attention back to the television and tried to get interested in the show.

Ten minutes later the brunette received a text from Freddie.

_OMG, we're at the same diner as Spencer and friends. Want to come see? K says it's cool._

The girl smiled and dashed out of the apartment.

* * *

Carly, Freddie and Kimberley sat at a table watching Spencer and the others sat in a booth across the diner. The teens could just about hear the conversation and it was obvious that Spencer was getting lost with their talk of politics. The sculptor attempted to liven up the conversation by introducing the group to "Old Man Belly-button", a drawing he had done on that part of his anatomy. Carly held her head in her hands at his antics but the other adults seemed to be laughing and having fun so she settled back and joined the couple in the appetisers on the table.

"I think it's going well" Kim gestured to the foursome after finishing her food.

"I dunno" Carly responded, "Spencer's not looking too happy."

Indeed her brother was visibly wincing as the conversation turned to live theatre; he attempted to turn the conversation to the new Eddie Murphy movie he had recently seen.

"Uh that movie was for kids" Darnell noted. "And idiots."

The elder Shay groaned before getting up from the table and dashing over to speak to his sister.

"Carly, don't make me go back there" he whined. "Those guys are boring, they talk about politics and live theatre and I hate them!"

"Spencer, you need some friends your own age" Freddie pointed out.

"Do not" he shot back.

"Aw, come here baby" Carly sympathised and pulled her brother into a hug. The artist then sat down next to her.

Across the diner an attractive blonde in her late twenties exited the restroom and entered the seating area. She glanced around the room before her eyes settled on their table. She gaped in astonishment before dropping her smoothie with a clatter.

The four were bewildered as the blonde raced over to their table.

"Oh my God, you're iCarly!" she shrieked, drawing the attention of every patron in the place. "And you are?" She had spotted Kimberley leaning against Freddie's arm.

"Uh hey," a confused Kim answered, "I'm Freddie's girlfriend Kimberley."

"Oh that's a shame" the blonde told her. "I always thought that one day Carly would come to her senses and you two," she looked from Freddie to Carly, "would get it on."

Kimberley looked daggers at her while the other two briefly shared an uncomfortable look before Freddie's laugh broke tension.

"Yeah, that's not going to happen" he chortled. Carly's face fell for a split-second before she covered it by joining in the laughter.

"I can't believe it's really you guys" the fan-girl cried, changing the subject and drawing her cellphone. She pressed herself against Freddie and snapped a photo of the two before doing the same with Carly and Spencer before pulling Carly and Freddie into an awkward hug with her. The commotion drew the attention of the diner staff and a couple of them came over to escort the enthusiastic blonde out of the diner.

"Wait, wait" yelled Spencer as they passed through the door. He got up and chased after them yelling "You wanna hang sometime this week?"

"I guess your brother's just not cut out to have grown-up friends" Kimberley commented to Carly.

"You could be right" she conceded, eyeing the three "new friends" now all wearing the expression of one who has just dodged a bullet, and the three returned to their drinks.

* * *

The night of Spencer's birthday party arrived and Carly, Freddie, Kimberley and the blonde, who they discovered was called Heather, were gathered with the birthday boy.

"Oh… for he's a jolly good Spencer!" the others chorused as the artist lit the candles on his spaghetti taco birthday cake.

"I can't believe it, spaghetti tacos!" Heather squealed as their rendition concluded.

Spencer blew out the candles; amazingly he failed to set fire to anything else.

"Happy birthday" Carly told her brother and the two Shays embraced warmly.

"Happy birthday man" Freddie told him, shaking his hand before sharing a quick man-hug.

"Happy birthday baby" Heather leapt into his arms and the pair went crashing to the floor. Kim winced at the sight. "Now let's eat this sucker!" she cried as they righted themselves.

"Not before we play Laser Tag!" Spencer shouted. The others cheered, grabbed their lasers and chased each other around the apartment laughing as they shot at each other.

* * *

**AN: Thank you all for reading this; it was closer to the episode than I expected but I hope you enjoyed the continuation of Freddie's burgeoning relationship with Kim and an extended usage of this episode's guest star.**

**Please feel free to let me know what you thought and I hope to see you all next week for the next chapter.**


	6. iGet Kidnapped

**AN: Welcome, one and all, to the latest chapter in this story. It is based, loosely, on iRescue Carly. As ever my thanks go to those of you read and, in particular, who took the trouble to review the last chapter.**

**Subject87 – Glad not to disappoint you **** .**

**Agent-M – you're probably right on Spencer's personality, thank you for your kind words.**

**Saphirabrightscale/Dwyn Arthur – the subject matter of this episode gives us a chance to look at what's happened to Sam in a little detail here.**

**Guest(s) – since the first chapter the premise of this story has been that Freddie DOESN'T care anymore; he wanted rid of all of them after the first couple of chapters. Carly has worked her way back into his life by apologising and promising to try to be a better friend to him, but friendship between them is going to be very much on **_**his**_** terms – for now anyway.**

**LuckyFallenStarBaby – Kim was an obvious choice for me to be the third person in the group since I couldn't use Sam. And it's great to meet another member of the "iHate Gibby" club.**

**Incidentally, for anyone who saw the still Dan tweeted yesterday, you can rest assured that this story will not be joining in with any attempts he may have to, once again, attempt to convince impressionable children and teens that Domestic Abuse is not only acceptable but actually funny. I will have no part of that. Ok, on with the story.**

* * *

"Hey! Shay" A voice called across the smoothie store where Carly was sat nursing her drink while she waited for Freddie to return from the bathroom. The two friends were hanging out while he waited for Kim to arrive and they headed for a movie and something to eat. Carly turned to the voice's dark haired owner; it wasn't somebody she knew but clearly this girl knew who _she_ was.

"Hello" she said uncertainly.

"I'm Dana" the other said, sitting in Freddie's seat and pushing the remnants of his drink to one side. Carly caught it before the cup could be knocked over.

"Uh, have a seat."

The tough-looking girl frowned at her. "I just got out of juvie, I hear Puckett's in jail and your little friend is responsible so don't mess me around and quit acting like a goof."

"Uh sorry" the intimidated brunette responded meekly.

"Ordinarily I wouldn't be seen dead around someone like you but Puckett needs friends. So when are next you going to visit her then?"

Carly reddened as she realised that she hadn't seen the blonde since her arrest. "I'll go tomorrow" she said, more to herself than to Dana.

"You better" she said pushing off from the table and walking briskly out of the establishment, moments before Freddie emerged from the men's room.

"Are you ok? You look pale" the tech producer asked with concern.

"Uh yeah, I'm good" she said weakly, deciding to keep the news that she would be visiting Sam to herself for now.

The teenagers finished their smoothies just as Kim arrived.

"Hey, you ready to go?" she asked her boyfriend.

"Yes" he confirmed. "Catch you later Carls" he smiled and the dating duo exited. The brunette followed them out of the door a few moments later but instead of the mall she headed for Bushwell Plaza. The girl entered her apartment to be greeted by the sight of Spencer and Heather making out on the couch. Her mood fell further as seeing them reminded her own single status and inevitably her thoughts turned to Freddie and Kim. She quickly headed up to her room, unnoticed by her brother or his blonde girlfriend, and flopped onto her bed. She sighed and stared at the ceiling as she reflected on just how much things had changed since the events of "Halfoween". The brunette shook her head, trying to dismiss the thoughts of everything that had gone wrong; the end of iCarly, Sam's arrest, Freddie's distance, his new girlfriend…

The brunette fell into a fitful sleep; her dreams were dominated by the painful thoughts she had reflected upon.

* * *

Carly arrived early the next morning at the jail where her friend was being held.

"Hey Sam" she greeted her.

"Hey Carls" was the mournful blonde's reply.

"How are you doing?"

"Mama's ok, to say I'm stuck in here." She gestured to her surroundings. "How about you, any news?" Sam enquired.

"Freddie's got a girlfriend" the brunette replied flatly.

"The nub got a girl? No way! Where did he find her, the insane asylum?"

"Sam, be nice."

"Nice? NICE? He's the reason I'm in here remember?"

"No Sam, _you're_ the reason you're in here – what you did to him."

Sam lowered her gaze to the table.

"We tried to find Spencer some friends his own age; that bombed but this one girl – she was a little crazy – liked him and they're dating now."

"Cool. What about Gibby?"

"I… haven't seen him in a while; he and Freddie joined a band – that's how he met _Kimberley_" she snarled the name out. "Gibby got jealous, took a swing at him and Freddie beat him to a pulp."

"Seriously?" Sam was astonished. "That boy's unrecognisable since what happened to him on Halfoween."

"You got that right" the brunette lamented. "Whoa, who's the dude?" she asked, eyeing a boy who had just arrived across the room.

"_Squidge_?" Sam was astonished. "Ok Carls you HAVE to improve your taste in guys – before _you_ fall for Freddie" she finished with a laugh.

Carly bit her tongue gently and thought for a moment before replying. "You know him?"

"Yeah, we go _way_ back – to our trouble-making and juvie days."

"Oh that reminds me, I met another of your friends – Dana – yesterday. She said she just got out."

"Must be nice." Sam grumbled. "But seriously, Carls, stay _far_ away from that dude, he'll be nothing but trouble for you."

* * *

"You went to visit her? After what she did to me?" A furious Freddie pulled on his shirt again to show off the slowly fading red mark. Kimberley gasped at the sight of it and slipped an arm around her boyfriend. The commotion drew a few glances from around neighbouring tables in the smoothie outlet.

"What she did to you was awful and she's paying for it" Carly insisted. "But she's my friend. I can't pick you over her and it's not fair if you're going to ask me to."

"I know" he conceded. "I want nothing more to do with her but you're in a more difficult position. Just don't expect me to be around her if they let her out. If you hang with her, you and I won't be hanging."

Carly frowned at the table; she understood Freddie's position and that he was making the choice for her but she hated the thought that Sam's return could end their friendship. The brunette was desperate to find another way, no matter how unlikely it seemed right now.

"I've got to go; my band have practice tonight" Kim commented, glancing at her watch. "See you later Freddie." She kissed him slowly and sensuously. "Carly" she nodded to the brunette and left, Freddie eyeing her as she departed.

Freddie had recently received some good news; his bandmates had decided to kick Gibby out for starting the fight and to allow Freddie to remain with them. He passed this news on to Carly and she smiled at him, professing her happiness at their decision.

"You want to hang at ours for a while?" Carly asked him hopefully.

"Sure" he agreed and the two left for Bushwell Plaza.

Arriving in apartment 8-C they were surprised to find it in total darkness and with a sound of girlish laughter emanating from the room. Carly snapped the light on and immediately heard Spencer yell; her elder brother crashed to the floor and she saw Heather laid on the couch and the artist wearing some sort of goggles.

"These are light-enhancing night-vision goggles" he complained, ripping them from his head. "Putting the lights on blinds the wearer!"

"Whoa, where did you get those Spence?" Freddie asked.

"They were in a box of some of dad's stuff" he told him. "Oh here, there's another pair". He reached behind the couch and handed another set to the boy. "Carly, turn the lights off again."

His sister complied and Freddie was soon laughing at the sight of Spencer dancing round the room in the dark. Freddie removed the goggles and switched the light on again.

"We're heading upstairs" Carly informed the 'adults' and, seizing Freddie's wrist, dragged him up to her room, casting concerned looks at her brother and his girlfriend as they went. Freddie chuckled behind her.

Freddie met his girlfriend outside Ridgeway and they headed to the local mall; Carly went alone to her usual haunt (she was still banned from the Groovy Smoothie). The girl sucked on her drink before being joined at the table by two uninvited guests, Dana and Squidge; the latter recognised her from her jail visit and eyed her seedily.

"So Shay, how was Puckett?"

"She's fine." The brunette shrugged. "Why don't you go see her?"

"I _would_ but I'm attending a smash party tomorrow."

"We _both_ are." Squidge leered.

"A what?"

Dana sighed. "You are such a _goof_" she complained, Carly drew back slightly at the insult. Her acquaintance brightened. "Hey, you should come along." She scribbled an address on a napkin and handed it to her. "Oh, and bring that Freddie kid too…"

The pair departed, laughing together. Carly shivered slightly but, heedless of Sam's warning, resolved to go to the party so she could talk to the guy. She drained her drink and headed for the door, before remembering what her plans were for the night and pulling out her pearphone.

Carly texted her friend as she left; he replied that he and Kim were together but accepted the invitation to movie night, so long as his girlfriend could come too. The former web-hostess reluctantly agreed and arrived home shortly before the other two arrived. She tried not to look at them as they cuddled close together; to her other side Spencer and Heather were doing the same. More and more the brunette felt left out and alone in the middle of them. It didn't help that it was a scary movie; whenever she felt frightened (or even was just pretending) Kim would clutch at her boyfriend and push herself ever closer to him.

The movie ended and the teenage couple prepared to leave.

"Oh Freddie," Carly called as they neared the door, "I've been invited to a party tomorrow and they want you to come too."

"Can Kim come as well?" he asked, predictably to Carly.

"I guess" she shrugged.

"Ok then. Just let us know when and where."

"I have the address; I guess around 8?"

Freddie looked to his girl; they exchanged a non-verbal conversation before the brown-haired boy said "Sure. We'll head there in my car and pick Kim up on the way. 'Night Carls, 'night you guys" he called to Spencer and Heather.

"Laters Freddo" the sculptor called back.

* * *

As Carly was preparing to head to the party, Freddie waited downstairs in the Shay apartment. He had gleaned from the girl that it was a "smash party"; a little research had told him it wasn't the sort of thing he REALLY wanted to go to, though Carly was refusing to back out and he didn't want her going to one alone.

"Spencer," he began, "can I borrow one of your sets of night vision goggles?"

"Aww, I was going to have a teddy bear fight in the dark with Heather!" the older Shay complained.

"I might need them to protect your little sister." Freddie played his ace.

"Ok then." Spencer reluctantly handed a pair over.

The trio pulled up at the address; the sounds of the carnage could be heard from the street. Carly was first across the threshold and was shocked at the scenes of devastation that greeted her. She turned and made to run, only to be grabbed by Dana and Squidge as she did; the pair held her tight and hauled her back inside. Freddie sighed, rolling his eyes at the scene.

"Stay here?" he suggested to Kim.

"No way!" his girlfriend insisted. Freddie shrugged and the couple followed her in.

"Oh lookie, we got iCarly" Dana taunted as some of the other party-goers formed a circle around them. She and Squidge released Carly, shoving the brunette backwards into the middle of the circle with the other two. Carly turned and ran at the door; she was easily restrained and pushed back by some of the hoodlums.

"You ballerinas aren't going anywhere" Dana whispered. "Chain them up!" she ordered. "I've got special plans for you" she told Freddie with an evil smile, before leaning in _very_ close. "I'm going to teach you what the price is of having my friend arrested."

Freddie eyed her balefully. "Bring it" he goaded back without a trace of fear in his eyes or his voice.

The circle drew in around the three; Carly and Kim were seized easily but Freddie struggled with his would-be captors. He spotted his chance as the ring broke down so that the girls could be removed and he yanked himself from the grasp of the duo holding him, spinning and swinging to floor one of them. He forced a hole in the human circle and retreated towards the door, surveying the scene as he did. Carly and Kim were already being tied up; it would only be a matter of time before he joined them. He reached into his jacket pocket and drew out the night-vision goggles he had borrowed from Spencer and, first reaching out to kill the lights, he quickly pulled them on.

Through the goggles the boy could see an air of panic descending on the disoriented group. He smiled as the people holding the girls let go and began to wander slightly aimlessly in the dark. An approving nod greeted Kim's reaction as his girlfriend began pulling on and loosening her bonds but he rolled his eyes at Carly, paralysed in shock. His attention was drawn to a body heading towards the light switch; the boy threw a quick punch to fell them. He swung on a couple of others as he began clearing a path to the girls; reaching Kim he whispered "It's me" and removed the last of her restraints. "Wait here" he instructed before turning to Carly and releasing her as well. He then took each girl by the hand and led them from the place, kicking some of the goons out of his way as he did.

Having reached the door he let go of Carly so he could remove the goggled; he opened the door and the three exited the house, surveying the scene as they left.

"Nice work" commented Kim, kissing his cheek in gratitude.

"Thank you Freddie" Carly whispered.

"It's ok" he shrugged modestly. "Let's go home."

Freddie dropped his girl off at home before he and Carly returned to their apartment complex. After parking up they headed to the 8th floor together. Freddie decided to look in on Spencer and return the goggles before going home. Opening the door they saw Spencer and Heather wielding teddy bears and having a mock fight with them. The teens looked at each other and Freddie shrugged his shoulders before lobbing the goggles onto the couch.

"Goodnight" he said and headed across the hall to 8-D.

Carly took a couple of seconds to survey the sight of two adults _still_ "fighting" with teddy bears.

"I'm going to bed" she announced and headed upstairs.

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading, please let me know what you thought and I hope to see you all next week for the next update.**


	7. iRoad Trip

**AN: Hello, my dear readers. I do hope you enjoy my interpretation of last week's episode (iLost My Head in Vegas). Obviously previous chapters of this story mean that it is only based **_**loosely**_** on the episode itself.**

**As ever I would like to give special thanks to those of you who reviewed the last chapter.**

**LuckyFallenStarBaby, ArtisticAngel6 – thank you for your kind words; I'm glad you're enjoying it.**

**Digger12 – Freddie is in a fairly new relationship and finally happy, which is why he spends so much time with his girlfriend and wants to involve her with everything.**

**Saphirabrightscale – Freddie's a smart guy, especially when he's thinking clearly.**

**Hejk12345 – I wish I was in charge of iCarly and Victorious too; writing my stories is the nearest I'll get to it though unfortunately…**

**Ok, I think that's everyone – let's get on with the story.**

* * *

"Hey Freddie!" Carly called across the school hallway; her just-about-friend turned to face her and smiled as she walked over to him.

"Hey Carls," he returned.

"I missed you last night," she said with a tone of regret, "How was… was it fencing last night? I lose track of all your activities." She poked him playfully in the chest, hiding the pain she felt that he had a whole other life that she was no longer a part of.

"It's my model train club on a Wednesday," he supplied. "At least nobody's tried to get me kicked out of this one yet" he continued bitterly.

_Okay, now is not the time to mention Sam_ the brunette thought.

"Fencing is tonight," he added in a far brighter voice, "followed by dinner and a movie." His tone now oozed satisfaction and happiness; there could scarcely be more contrast between the moods of the two.

"So I won't see you tonight either," she noted in a soft voice as the bell rang and the teachers urged them to get to class. She hoped that Freddie hadn't heard her as she didn't want to seem like she was guilt-tripping him but he replied,

"I'm afraid not. But Kim and I are heading to the U21 club tomorrow night if you want to come too?"

The web star hesitated; she wanted to spend time with Freddie and she didn't dislike his girlfriend (other than the amount of time he spent with her) but she didn't want to feel like the third wheel _again_ around them.

"I'm visiting Sam tomorrow night," she lied.

"Maybe some other time then," he shrugged as they entered the classroom and took their seats.

The brown-haired teen smiled as he spotted his girlfriend on the bleachers after his fencing session; he waved to her and she hopped down to the floor to give him a quick kiss.

"I'll be a couple of minutes getting changed, then I'm all yours" he promised.

"I can't wait" she grinned, kissing him again.

He headed to the locker room, showered quickly and dressed in a smart dress shirt and dark blue jeans. He crammed his bag into one of the vacant lockers and returned to the arena where Kim stood waiting. Like him she was dressed rather more smartly than usual; she wore a knee-length black dress, two-inch high heeled black shoes and completed the look by wielding a small, black purse. He offered his arm and she looped hers around it as they left the studio for his car and the restaurant.

The couple sat at their booth perusing the menu; Freddie, being a fan of Italian food, was drawn to the pastas. A friend from his tech club had eaten here the previous week and waxed lyrical about its lasagne so he ordered that.

"Lasagne sounds great; I'll have the same please," Lindsey said politely to their waitress. Freddie smiled, unable to stop himself mentally comparing _this_ date, and the well-mannered girl, to the last time he and a girl ate lasagne in a restaurant. He took a sip of his soda and resumed smiling at the girl sat opposite.

"What?" she asked, confused but returning his smile.

"Can't a guy just be happy in the company of a beautiful girl?" he asked in mock affront but continuing to smile at her, causing her to giggle at his flattery before she raised her own glass and took a sip.

They chatted idly while their meals were prepared, thanking the waitress when she brought them over.

"Smells good," he commented as the girl left their table.

Kim sampled the food before responding "Tastes good too."

The pair talked a little while they ate; music was common ground for them so they discussed their bands' activities and upcoming gigs, trying to co-ordinate their routines to allow them to spend more time together.

"Between the band and my schoolwork I'm busy all this weekend," she lamented.

"I'll make sure I get ahead with my work then," he commented.

"I'm sure _Carly_ will be pleased that I'm not around." Her tone was playful but her eyes cooled a little thinking of the other brunette. Freddie sighed and set his cutlery down.

"You know there's _nothing_ between the two of us now, right?" He reached across the table and took her hand, gently tracing over the back of it with his thumb.

"I believe _you_; her… I'm not so sure about."

"She… she wants to spend more time with me," he admitted, "though just as a friend because, after everything that happened over the last few months we were barely even friends. Things are getting better though."

"Do you regret it? The way things went with her, I mean," she clarified in response to his quizzical look. He sighed again.

"It hurt – a lot. What they did – or rather didn't do – at the party, but if they _hadn't_ then I'd still be in that old life and who knows? Maybe I'd still be putting up with Sam's crap and her indifference. Maybe I'd have just let Sam screw up my job and I'd have sat there and let her drive you away from me when she said what she did, or not stood up to Gibby when he swung on me. Everything snowballed after that night but, for all the distance and awkwardness between Carly and me, I think things are actually better than they were; we're looking at a _genuine_ friendship if we get there instead of whatever we had before. And then…" he squeezed her hand a little, "there's you and me. Even if there'd been nothing to salvage, if she was no longer in my life at all – which was what I wanted the morning after the party anyway – being with you means I wouldn't change any of it."

She smiled across the table at him as moisture threatened to glisten in her eyes. "Let's eat up before it gets cold," he said with a laugh, releasing her hand and they both returned to their meals.

The former tech producer paid the check and took his girlfriend's hand in his own as they left the restaurant in high spirits, having enjoyed such an excellent meal. He drove them to the cinema complex and bought tickets to the new Eddie Murphy film (on Spencer's recommendation, so it was with some trepidation that they sat in front of the screen). They had arrived early enough to claim the back row so Freddie whispered that there was always "Plan B" if the movie sucked. She giggled and replied that "Plan B" might happen even if the movie's good before stealing a quick kiss. Freddie responded in kind and the couple were just threatening to indulge in a really good make-out session when a disgusted voice called from the front of the auditorium,

"Guys, at least wait until the lights go out before you start."

"Sorry," they said in unison before grinning guiltily at the group of teenagers who had just entered the room.

Within five minutes of the lights going out they were ignoring the movie and back to making out.

* * *

Feeling that she shouldn't lie to Freddie, Carly visited the local jail the following evening while he and Kim went to the club. Sam was pleased to see the brunette and was happy that during their talk she was able to get some news of the world outside of the facility. The blonde did have a request to make of her friend, however.

"My uncle Carmine came to visit yesterday," she began. Carly grimaced. _Nothing good can begin that way_ she thought grimly. "And he says that my mom was arrested in Vegas yesterday. Her lawyer called him; he must have gone down the list of Pucketts until he found one that wasn't in jail," the blonde surmised.

"What does he expect _you_ to do about it?" Carly asked in wonderment.

"He wants me to find _someone_," the inmate smiled sweetly at her friend, "who's willing to bail her out."

"How much?" Carly groaned in resignation.

"Twenty-five hundred."

"Dollars?" she squeaked.

"Uh huh."

"I don't know where I'm gonna find _that_ sort of cash," she mused.

"You could ask Spencer…" Sam began but was cut off.

"Oh, he hasn't had a job since twelfth grade and hasn't sold a sculpture since…" she paused for thought. "He hasn't _sold_ a sculpture."

"Well there's gotta be _someone_ who can get her out of there; otherwise she'll be stuck there until a trial date is set."

"I don't know anyone who might have that sort of cash except…"

"Who?" Sam demanded.

"Freddie – and do you really think he's going to want to help you out?"

"Maybe you could pull the old 'please, for me' on him?" the blonde suggested. "Please Carls, you have to _try_ at least; I can't just have my mom rotting in a Vegas jail and obviously _I_ can't do anything from here."

"I'll try," she promised.

"Thanks Carls," her friend smiled.

* * *

"Knock, knock," Freddie called around 10 a.m. on the Saturday morning.

"Oh hi Freddie," Carly's voice had an air of distraction; she had spent the previous night wondering how on earth she could try to convince Freddie to join in with this latest escapade.

"Are you ok?" he asked concernedly, detecting instantly that all was not well with the brunette.

"I'm fine," she said truthfully, "how was the club?"

"Fantastic!" he enthused. "The music wasn't all to my taste but the company…" he trailed off with a broad smile. "Let's just say it was a great night with a great girl."

Carly's brain was in overdrive by this point and she really didn't like some of the thoughts that it was coming up with. She was relieved when he was the next to speak.

"How was your night?"

"Oh, it was ok," she answered, "until she told me her mom was arrested a couple of days ago in Vegas."

"Like mother, like daughter," the brown-haired boy muttered bitterly.

"Yeah, and she wants _me_ to bail her out."

"Seriously?"

"Oh yes, and it's going to cost twenty-five hundred."

"Dollars?" he yelped.

"Uh huh."

He whistled. "Where does she expect you to get that kind of money?" She looked at him; he face-palmed and closed his eyes, shaking his head.

"Seriously? She seriously expects me to do her a favour?"

"No, she expects you to do _me_ a favour when I use 'please, for me' on you," she admitted with a sigh, "but it's not like you'd _lose_ the money… provided she shows up for the hearing," a trace of uncertainty crept into Carly's voice at the thought. Freddie smirked. "So… what are the chances?"

"Slim to none," he said nonchalantly.

"I didn't think so; figured I had to ask though. Especially after what happened with Gibby," the brunette played the closest thing she had to an ace; admittedly it was probably closer to a seven.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Freddie asked in confusion.

"Well," she began slowly and thoughtfully, "You beat him up… in self-defence I know," she added hurriedly, "but I guess it shows that, if things were a little different, you could be the one in there and maybe needing a favour."

"Do NOT try to compare me with that bitch!" he snapped angrily, waving his left index finger in her face. She raised her hands in submission.

"I'm sorry; I guess I just hoped that you'd consider the circumstances and perhaps think that you could maybe do this one thing – for me if not for her."

Freddie thought for a moment; he didn't have any inclination to help Sam but Carly… well she was different. He didn't have any plans for the weekend, with Kim busy, and a trip to Sin City appealed to him, not least because the thought of him being there would utterly horrify his mother, so he turned to the girl he had long crushed upon.

"Can Spencer borrow Socko's RV? If so, I guess I'm in."

Carly flung herself on him and hugged him before she realised the impropriety of doing so and stepped back in embarrassment. "Thank you," she told the floor, "I'll ask Spencer."

To nobody's great surprise Spencer had no plans for the weekend either, so he borrowed the vehicle (to Freddie's surprise – after losing an RV during the search for Bigfoot he highly doubted that Socko would loan Spencer anything again) and the three were quickly on the road to Nevada.

"Oh seriously?" Carly laughed as Freddie unloaded his bag on the small table in the living area of the vehicle. "You're going to spend the trip doing homework?"

"I don't get much time during the week," he explained. "I work on Monday – and Saturday usually, I'm taking a day off for this _and_ financing things," he reminded her curtly, "Tech club is Tuesday, Trains on a Wednesday, Fencing on Thursday, band on a Sunday – again I have to miss that for this – plus the time I spend with Kim, so I need to get my work done while I have the chance."

"Okay," she surrendered, "need a study buddy?"

"Sure."

The teens spent the trip engrossed in their studies while Spencer amused himself singing along to the radio.

* * *

The RV pulled into a rest stop on the outskirts of Las Vegas in the early hours of Sunday morning; Spencer yawned tiredly and trudged into the back.

"Okay, I am _wiped_. I'm going to get a few hours' sleep before we do anything else."

"Sure thing," Carly said brightly; she and Freddie had slept a little after finishing their work, "We'll go explore and wake you up in a few."

"Oh no!" the elder Shay put his foot down, "you are _not_ going off into Las Vegas in the middle of the night. You stay in here until daybreak."

"Alright," she grumbled.

Freddie returned to one of the roll-out beds. "May as well get a couple more hours," he muttered. Carly sighed and squeezed in next to him, leaving the other bed free for Spencer. The boy was surprised, and a little uncomfortable, but said nothing; he would awake to find his arm draped over her and a coy smile on her face.

"Let's go!" the brunette cried, extricating herself from him. He took a moment to tidy his hair and followed her out of the RV; Spencer blundered out behind them and locked up.

"Ok, I need to find a bank," Freddie commented. Carly drew her pearphone from her jeans and tapped away to bring up a map.

"There's one a couple of blocks that way," she pointed and led the way. Freddie went in for a few minutes before emerging and smiling at the Shays.

"Okay," he told them, "let's bail out a Puckett."

The trio made their way to the local jail and Carly walked up to the window, flanked by the guys.

"Hi, we're here to bail out a Pam Puckett," she told the surly officer, who scanned her computer.

"Puckett, Puckett… we have a Pinkton," she offered.

"We don't _want_ a Pinkton," Freddie interjected.

"I don't blame you, she's a stabber," the officer told them. All three raised their eyebrows at the information. "Oh here we are," she continued. "Pam Puckett; oh yeah," as if surprised that someone would come for the Jane Lynch-lookalike. "Bail is twenty-five hundred."

Freddie handed over the banker's draft and the officer traded it for a receipt. "She'll be out in a minute; have a seat." Then she stopped herself as she was turning away and returned her gaze to the handsome teen. "Say, are you dating anybody?"

"Uh yeah, I am."

"That sucks," the officer muttered and walked off.

"Tell me about it," whispered Carly under her breath.

"Carly!" shouted Sam's mother as she emerged from the cells. "Thank you so much for coming for me," she continued in a grateful tone. "Oh it's you," she commented to Freddie.

"Yeah, me," he snapped, "the one that just _bailed you out of there_. The one your daughter shot without provocation. Yes, it's definitely me."

Pam's mouth formed an 'o' shape at his outburst.

"I think that means 'thank you' in Puckett," Carly said lightly.

"Yes, thanks," the Puckett matriarch muttered gruffly. "Well, let's head back to Seattle then."

"Hold on," Spencer half-shouted, "I've just driven _eighteen hours_ to get here. We are going sight-seeing."

The teens shrugged at one another. "I wouldn't mind seeing the strip," Freddie volunteered.

"Me too," Carly agreed.

"Meh, it's not all that," Pam muttered as she followed them out to freedom.

* * *

**AN: Thank you all for reading. I really hope you enjoyed this. If so, please let me know. If not, please let me know what you didn't like. All feedback is welcome and gratefully received. I hope to see you all for the next chapter, which may or may not be the finale now… PD**


	8. iGo Full Circle

**AN: Hello everyone and welcome to the finale of this story. Did you all enjoy iGoodbye (even if you shed the odd tear)? I did. This chapter is based, to an extent, on some parts of that episode.**

**It's hard to believe that this story started life as a one-shot in response to iHalfoween and then began to take on a life of its own; iPear Store gave me the chance to continue it and for some reason people wanted to read more – the rest of the story was born.**

**Thank you to those of you who reviewed the last chapter. Your feedback is always appreciated.**

**Subject87 – thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it and the rebuilding of some form of genuine friendship between them.**

**LuckyFallenStar – thanks; I think a bit of Freddie-love was needed. And, with what Freddie was doing for Pam and how it all came about anyway, I think a few choice words were very much in order.**

**Now sit back and, please, enjoy the final chapter of iAm Done.**

* * *

Carly and Freddie sat side-by-side on the fire escape. Despite being summer it was a cool day in Seattle, particularly when the sun disappeared behind a cloud, so the brunette was regretting her decision to wear a skirt today. She shivered a little as a breeze blew past Bushwell Plaza and Freddie responded by slipping off his light jacket, which he wrapped around her shoulders before putting his arm around her and pulling her into a cuddle. Enjoying the contact she leant against him.

"We made it," she commented as she surveyed the vista of the city around them.

"We sure did," he agreed. The two teenagers found themselves looking straight at one another. Her hand moved to his cheek and she leaned in towards him. He matched her move and the two began kissing, slowly at first but they quickly relaxed into it and began to deepen the kiss. She parted her lips slightly as his tongue sought entrance and shifted position in her seat as she felt his hand on her thigh; it began a slow, torturous journey ever further up it, sliding under her skirt.

Carly Shay awoke with a gasp and sat up in her bed; she groaned as she looked around her dark bedroom, in which she was very much alone. This was the fourth night in a row that she had dreamed about Freddie – about _her and Freddie_. She lay back again, closed her eyes and waited for sleep to claim her again. Twenty minutes of tossing and turning later she realised that it was not going to; she couldn't sleep _again_.

The brunette clambered out of bed and made her way across to her desk where she switched her laptop on, loaded up the iCarly website and began replaying some of the old episodes that they had archived. A smile came to her lips every time that Freddie appeared on the screen; she frowned at Sam's put-downs that she threw at him and a tear leaked from her eye every time she'd admonish him for being "too close".

"I blew it," she muttered to herself as she wished, more than anything, that he would stand that close to her again or that he would look at her like that again… and that he would _love_ her like that again. The thought brought fresh tears to the girl's eyes and she hastily wiped them on her sleeve.

_Four days_; that's how long ago it was since he had broken the news to her that he was leaving. He had decided to go to Harvard. Freddie had been elated to receive his college acceptance letters from the length and breadth of the country and the former iCarly tech producer had thought long and hard over his options. With a new frown Carly realised that his decision may be due in part to Kimberley, his girlfriend, opting to head to New York City to pursue her musical ambitions while she studied. They would be far enough apart to focus on their work and studying but close enough to see one another on a weekend.

A few yards from where she sat, just across the hallway of the apartment complex, Freddie Benson had no such problems sleeping; another brunette was wrapped in his arms, her back to him as they slumbered, and they both wore contented smiles. His bedroom door was wide open and his mother looked in frequently during the night (she had also mounted a camera in the doorway and trained it on his bed, though, as Freddie had whispered to Kim conspiratorially, if they had wanted to do anything then he could easily have hacked the feed, set the camera on a loop and hoped that they were quick and quiet about it). Marissa had only relented and agreed to let Kimberley stay over in the first place because her son had made it clear that if she didn't then he would be staying at her place instead.

The teens met for a smoothie in widely differing spirits the next morning. Freddie was delighted with how life was going while Carly's spirits had taken another turn for the worse this morning when her father e-mailed her; he would not be able to make it home for the annual father/daughter dance. The tech genius sympathised with the girl who for so long had had his heart, even Kimberley gave her a sympathetic look at the misery she was experiencing. It also hadn't helped the web-hostess that she'd been woken from her limited slumbers early that morning.

"Spencer's driving me crazy," she complained. "He's restoring some old motorcycle and works on it at odd hours; it was like five in the morning when he started today." She ran a hand distractedly through her slightly unkempt hair.

"Uh, why?" Freddie was curious.

"Socko wants to give it to his cousin, Ryder, for his birthday this weekend."

"And he's asked Spencer? The guy who can set fire to _anything_ without even trying is entrusted with a vintage motorcycle?"

"I never thought of it like that," she confessed with a shrug and a shy grin.

"Oh, I have to go," the boy declared suddenly, taking the last sip of his drink, "it's my last shift at work today," he explained, leaning over and kissing his girlfriend before standing. "Movie tonight?" Kimberley nodded eagerly. "I'll catch you later Carls."

The two brunettes watched him go; both then tried to read the other's expression.

"So, are you all set for the move to the East Coast?" Carly asked, breaking the awkward silence that was brewing.

"I think so," she smiled, before giving her a confused look. "Freddie's told me some stories but does your brother _really_ set fire to everything he touches?"

"Pretty much," she lamented. "It got to the point that the Fire Department refused to deal with us anymore because we'd had 'too many call-outs'."

Kim covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. "Sorry," she apologised to the offended brunette, "it just seems too crazy to be true."

"That's Spencer," she conceded with a shrug.

The artist in question, meanwhile, had just returned to Bushwell Plaza after taking a break from his project; he had been to the Groovy Smoothie to pick up a drink for himself. A coughing and sneezing Lewbert informed him, amid the usual screams and admonishments for being in the lobby, that there was a parcel for him. The obnoxious doorman made a point of sharing his germs with the sculptor, much to the latter's disgust as he retrieved his package and headed upstairs.

A mournful Carly entered apartment 8-C as her brother was putting the finishing touches to the bike.

"What do you think?" he asked, gesturing to his handiwork and smiling broadly.

"Great," she said unenthusiastically before sinking into the couch and slumping her shoulders.

"What's the matter?"

"Oh it's just… this father/daughter dance. I really wanted to go and now dad won't be coming so I can't, and it's the last year I _could_ have gone before I pass the age limit…"

"Aw, who's getting all elderly?" he teased, failing to get a smile out of his little sister. "When is the dance?" he asked in burgeoning resignation.

"Tomorrow night."

"Well I have no plans, I could take you."

"Really?" He nodded at her enthusiastic voice. "That'd be awesome. I gotta start planning; I need a dress, a manicure, pedicure, my hair doing…" her voice trailed off as she was dashing upstairs and round the corner from him. He smiled at how happy she looked again. Then he sneezed.

Freddie was hunched over yet another damaged circuit board, face contorted in concentration. He smiled as he identified the problem and groped for the tool he needed.

"Freddie?" his boss called.

"Just a second… there." He looked up having finished his task.

"This has been your last shift here."

"Has been?" He glanced at a clock and saw his shift actually finished a couple of minutes earlier. "Oh yeah. Time flies when you're having fun," he chuckled.

"It's been so great having you work here with us and, any time you're back for holidays and want a little extra money, just call in – we'd love to see you again and have you back for a little while."

"Well, thank you. I'll be sure to call in next time I'm in Seattle for any length of time." He and Mr Cousins shook hands and he left the store, final pay check in hand, to meet his girlfriend at the movies.

* * *

Carly woke Saturday morning after her best night's sleep in several weeks. She was excited about the dance this evening and had a full day planned in terms of getting ready for it. She dressed and skipped downstairs for a quick breakfast before heading to the beautician for her first stop of the day. The second she left, a coughing and wheezing Spencer shuffled out of his room and collapsed onto the couch before rolling off it onto the floor.

The eccentric artist was still laid there when Freddie and Kim came by a few hours later. The concerned couple helped him up off the floor and sat him back onto the couch. Before either could sit down he toppled over and lay face down on the couch again.

"Spencer? Are you ok?" the Harvard-bound student asked in a worried voice.

"No," he admitted, "I've got a fever. Lewbert infected me yesterday."

"But aren't you taking Carly to some dance tonight," Kim asked.

"I'll be fine," he insisted, "just gotta get some more rest."

The teenagers stood and looked at one another. Carly bounced into the apartment, still delighted and looking well pampered, and greeted them brightly.

"Hey, Carly's here," Freddie said pointedly.

"Hey sister," Spencer made his voice as strong as possible. "You all set for tonight?"

"Yes and I can't wait!" She skipped upstairs to finish getting ready.

"What are you going to do?" Freddie asked the prone artist.

"Rest… be fine," he panted into the couch.

The two teens shook their heads and sat in the surrounding chairs keeping a cautious and watchful eye on the sculptor.

"I need to get dressed," he declared a few minutes later and hobbled over to his bedroom area.

"This is _not_ going to end well," Freddie told his girl with a shake of his head; she moved to his lap and the two sat watching TV in silence while he gently rubbed her midriff affectionately.

"Hey," Carly called a few minutes later to attract their attention. They turned to see her descending the stairs in a beautiful peach-and-black dress. Despite the changes in his romantic circumstances Freddie's first reaction was to drop his jaw; he had to work _very_ hard to prevent it from doing so, something that wasn't lost on his girlfriend. She was amused rather than jealous, however, knowing the whole story of the boy's life in recent months.

"Wow, Carls," he breathed, "you look amazing."

"It's a gorgeous dress," agreed Kim.

Spencer emerged in his tuxedo. "You ready to go?" he suppressed a cough before, unfortunately, stumbling as he extended his arm to her.

"Spencer?" she asked with fear both in her voice and rising in her stomach.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he tried to reassure her. It didn't work as his head was close enough to her arm that she immediately felt his forehead.

"Oh my God, you're burning up!"

"I'm fine!" he reiterated.

"You can't go anywhere tonight," she insisted, "except straight to bed." She pushed him back towards his room before turning back to the living area; her face fell as she did.

Kimberley looked from one of the old friends to the other. "_You_ take her," she told her boyfriend.

"What?" Freddie was surprised by the suggestion.

"WHAT?" Carly was incredulous.

"You want to go, Freddie can take you; it's the perfect solution," she shrugged.

Carly stood facing her 'rival', which meant her back was to the front door of the apartment. She glanced at Freddie, who was smiling softly at her – clearly he was warming to the proposal – before she shook her head as the door opened slowly behind her.

"It's a sweet offer but… it's supposed to be father/daughter. I don't want to go with anyone."

"Not even me?" a voice asked behind her.

She turned in amazement to greet her father, stood there in full uniform.

"Dad!" she screamed and flung herself upon him.

Parent and child hugged for a few moments before he turned to the brown-haired couple stood behind his daughter.

"Freddie right?" he asked the tech producer.

"Yes sir," the brown-eyed teen offered his hand to the Air Force colonel, who shook it warmly.

"Thank you for saving my girl's life," he whispered, causing the other to shrug modestly. "And you are?" he turned to Kim in confusion.

"Kimberley; I'm Freddie's girlfriend," she explained.

"Daddy!" screamed Spencer as he rushed from his room. Unfortunately in his slightly befuddled state he ran into the couch, tripping over it and landing on the floor again.

The Shay parent shook his head at the antics of his first-born before seeming to realise that there was an absentee. "Where's Sam?"

The teenagers instantly exchanged glances; Freddie and Kim were surprised that he didn't know the story; Carly looked embarrassed that she hadn't told him.

"Um, Sam's… kinda in jail," she admitted. Her father raised his eyebrows.

"Why?" he asked in surprise.

"She…" the brunette began awkwardly, looking helplessly at Freddie.

"She shot me," Freddie supplied, "with a toy gun that I accidently made really powerful. On top of everything else she's done to me over the years – "

"Like what?" the colonel enquired; that his daughter's best friend had mistreated the boy who saved her life was news to him. Carly found herself immediately wishing the floor would open up and swallow her, a feeling that intensified as Freddie began the list of beatings and torments he had suffered at the hands of the "blonde-headed she-demon".

Colonel Shay frowned in thought and cast an eye over his uncomfortable-looking daughter as her friend's monologue concluded.

"We'll talk about this in the morning," he told her, "for tonight, let's enjoy the dance."

"Have a good time," Freddie told them sincerely; Steven smiled at the nature of the boy. He couldn't think of too many people who would still be willing to be around someone who had been a party to so much wrongdoing towards them.

"So, what do you want to do tonight?" Kim asked him once the two Shays had left.

"Well, we _could_ go out for dinner or see a movie again or something but…" he looked over to the still immobile form of Spencer lying on the floor, "I need to take care of Spencer."

"I'm fine," the artist told the carpet. "You two have fun."

The couple looked to one another, bent down to pick up an arm each and lugged the sculptor back to his bed. Once they deposited him there they left together and headed out for the night.

On waking Sunday morning Carly's high spirits from the dance were tempered by the knowledge that she and her father would 'talk'. He was clearly going to have a lot to say on the subject of Freddie; she consoled herself with the thought that he couldn't say much that she hadn't already thought herself. Deciding to face the music sooner rather than later she dressed in her jeans and a penny Tee and headed downstairs to make a start on breakfast.

"Hey," she called over her shoulder as her father entered the living area with breakfast almost cooked.

"Good morning snug bug," he smiled at her. "Is your brother up yet?"

"No, I think he's still sleeping off his sickness."

Colonel Shay nodded and sat at the kitchen table as she dropped bacon, eggs and French toast onto his plate. She added some to her own and sat across the table from him, picking nervously at her meal as she felt his eyes on her.

"Ok, get it over with," she sighed in a resigned tone when she could take no more of the silence.

"What?" he asked.

"You want to talk about all the crappy things that have happened to Freddie over the years that I never tried to put a stop to."

"What's the point?" She raised her eyes in confusion. "It seems you already know that so why waste time telling you something that you already know?" he persisted.

"I guess…" she said weakly. A tear leaked from her eye as she stood to clear up her plate. The colonel was around the table in an instant, pulling her into his arms. "Oh dad, I screwed everything up! I made so many mistakes with him; what Sam did, rejecting him when he liked me, breaking up with him after he saved my life… and now? Now he's got a girlfriend, he's happy, he's going to the other coast with her and without _me_. I just wish I could have it all back," she sobbed against her father's chest as she let out all her frustrations and miseries.

"Why don't you come back with me?" he asked softly. She lifted her head and gave him a quizzical look. "Come with me to Italy for a while; get away from it all. You could start college a little later and maybe take some on-line classes if you want so you're not behind when you do start."

"Wow, that's… that would be a big move to make," she whispered. "To be so far from Spencer and… and Sam."

"Think about it at least," he suggested, "but don't take too long; I have to leave tonight."

She nodded, despite her sadness at the news that he would be leaving again so quickly, and headed to her room; Carly had a lot of thinking to do.

The more the brunette girl thought about it the more appealing the idea became to her. By mid-afternoon she had pretty much decided that she _was_ going to go – that there was only one thing, one _person_ who could persuade her otherwise. Before speaking to him, though, she was visited in her room by her brother, now almost completely over his illness. She was packing things to go (as deep down she didn't expect Freddie to give her reason to stay at the last minute) when he knocked on her bedroom door.

"So you're going with dad?" he asked with a smile.

"Yep, we leave tonight," she confirmed.

"I'm going to miss you," he told his sister.

"Don't," she instructed.

"Don't what?"

"Make me cry… Thanks for taking care of me," her face fell a little, "most of the time."

"I should have said something about Freddie," he admitted a little shame-faced, "maybe then he'd still be here with you."

She lowered her eyes as sadness filled them. "You're not the only one who wishes they'd treated him a lot better. I'm gonna go talk to him."

She left him sat in her room and headed downstairs and across the hallway. When granted admittance to apartment 8-D she wasn't surprised to see Kimberley sat on the couch, nor that the two teenagers both looked a little dishevelled, as if she'd just interrupted a rather cosy make-out session. The thought wasn't an appealing one for her.

"Can I talk to you in private?" she asked him softly.

"Uh sure," he gestured to his room, "I won't be long," he whispered to his girl, kissing her again. Carly stood, arms folded, for a good minute waiting for the couple to finish.

"My dad asked me to go to Italy with him," she began without preamble. When he raised his eyebrows but didn't otherwise react she continued, "I'm going to go unless…" she looked him dead in the eye, using them to plead with him, "I have a reason to stay." She laid _everything_ on the line for him by concluding, "Will you _give_ me that reason?"

Her former crush gave her a sad smile. "For _so_ long I waited and hoped for you to say that, to feel like that." He sighed and put his hands on her arms, causing her breath to hitch a little. "It's too late Carly; I've moved on. I'm going to the East Coast with Kim next week. Maybe we'll make it and maybe we won't – but we're going to try. I'll always care about you as a friend but I can't give you that reason – I'm not going to stay in Seattle for you, not now."

The brunette bowed her head and her eyes filled with tears. "Goodbye Freddie," she whispered before reaching up to kiss his cheek. She met his eyes and the two smiled but he broke the spell by pulling her into a hug before she could think about seeking out his lips.

They exited his room together and he walked over to Kimberley, taking his hand gently and smiling at her. Carly looked through the two open front doors and spied her father.

"I'm going with you; there's just one more person I need to see first," she told him before heading to the prison to see her blonde best friend.

* * *

"This is Alaska Airlines Flight 12 non-stop from Seattle to Boston," the captain announced as the plane taxied towards the runway. "Our scheduled flight time today is five hours and twenty-three minutes with a projected landing time of around five-thirty Eastern Time."

The brown-haired boy turned to his brunette, musician girlfriend sat in the next seat to him and took her hand gently as the plane took off. They smiled at one another in the excitement of the new adventures and new chapter of their lives that was about to begin as he settled back in his seat. The teen looked out of the nearest window as his native city began to disappear behind and beneath him.

He truly was done with Seattle.

* * *

**AN: And this story is done. I really hope you all enjoyed it, as I said it started life as a one-shot then Dan kept giving me reasons to continue it.**

**If you have enjoyed it please let me know via a review (or let me know if you DIDN'T like it) and please check out another story from the same universe (sort of) – "Kindred Spirits" in the iCarly/Victorious cross-over section. Thanks again for reading. PD.**


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